Of Angels and Demons
by Lady Raion
Summary: AU Squinoa. After moving to a new town to start a new life, Rinoa Heartilly finds herself infactuated with a stranger. But secrets can't be hidden forever, and now her's are coming back to haunt her. REVISED, REEDITED & COMPLETE!
1. Dark Stranger

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. I don't own FF8, its characters, or locations. I don't own any songs I might use in the story, or the peices of songs I use in the beginning of each chapter , which are there for the purpose of reflecting that particular chapter.  
  
I paid my last respects this morning on an early grave  
  
Already said goodbye... nothin' left to say  
  
A tiny church, a tiny town and not a tear was shed  
  
Not how I wanted it... I'm hating all of this  
  
--- Nickle Back "Woke Up this Morning"  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Rinoa Heartilly stepped out of the cab and looked up at the building that she would be living in from now on, before removing the sun glasses from her eyes, so that she could see more clearly. It was a very nice apartment complex, with its smooth gray stone, and towering frame, but it was still nothing like her former home.  
  
With a sigh, she pulled some money from her purse and handed it to the driver, who was waiting for her to get her bags out of the trunk. She had a large suitcase, a small one, and a backpack. That was all she had brought with her from her old place of residence.  
  
After gathering her stuff, she passed through the lightly frosted, rotating glass doors and went to the front desk, where a young blonde woman was waiting.  
  
"Excuse me, miss, I need the key to my apartment," she said, settling her bags on the floor and fishing out a folded peice of paper from the pocket of her jacket. "Here's all the information you need."  
  
Rinoa had never even seen the apartment before. She hadn't been the one to buy it, either. The people in the Witness Protection Program had set it up for her.  
  
The woman at the front desk smiled and handed her two sets of keys. "You must be our new tenant. Happy to have you. I'm Quistis. If you have a problem, just call down here to the front desk, and I'll see what I can do."  
  
"Thank you," Rinoa said, flashing a fake smile and grabbing her keys from Quistis.  
  
She gathered her things and dragged them across the floor to the elevator, where she stood waiting impatiently after pressing the button several times.  
  
The doors finally slid open to reveal a young blonde man with a tattoo trailing down the left side of his face. It was obvious that he had been on his way somewhere, but when he saw Rinoa, he smiled a big, toothy grin at her. She gave a slight nod to him, and pulled her bags inside the elevator.  
  
"Aren't you getting off?" Rinoa asked as the doors slid closed with him still inside.  
  
"Oh, well, I guess not now," he said, an edge of embarresment creeping into his voice. "So, um, you need help with your things? I can carry them for you, if you want."  
  
She shook her, declining politely. "No, thank you. I'm fine."  
  
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet around nervously before saying, "So, you moving in with your boyfriend?"  
  
Straight to the point. Rinoa sighed inaudibly, then said, "No, I'm not."  
  
He grinned. "Well, if you ever want to, you know, go out and see the town, or something I'd be happy to take you."  
  
Just then, the elevator came to a stop. She quickly began to step out, with her bags in tow. "I'll think about it," she muttered softly, in reply.  
  
"Well, hey!" he called, following after her, and picking up one of her bags. "Um, if you ever have any problems, or need any help, you can always call me. I, um, have a key to all the apartments. I'm actually the maintnance man, you see."  
  
"Oh really," she said, in a hurried tone. She wasn't sure that she liked the idea of him having a key to her apartment. "I'll be sure to do that."  
  
"Alright," he replied just as she was reaching her door.  
  
She pulled the key from her pocket and fitted it into the lock before turning around and giving the man a "are you leaving anytime soon?" look.  
  
He grinned. "Well, my name is Zell, so, like I said, if you ever need anything, just give me a call."  
  
She nodded. "Right. I'll remeber that."  
  
He finally left her alone, so she opened the door, and threw her luggage inside, not caring much where it went. The apartment came fully furnished, so she plopped down on her bed and tossed her short black jacket aside. She couldn't help feeling like this just wasn't going to work. She hadn't been in that town more than a few minutes and already a guy was hitting on her.  
  
She kicked off her shoes and ignored the loud thump they made as they hit the wall, before laying down, and resting her head on the freshly washed pillow. With a small yawn, her eyes drifted closed and she curled herself into a little ball just before falling into the deep abyss of slumber.  
  
=====================  
  
The glint in his eye was enough to send her into a fit of shaking. It was something she couldn't understand, but knew it was evil all the same. Why hadn't she seen it before?  
  
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice soft and tremulous, though it seemed to echo against the darkness that swallowed the room.  
  
There was no reply. Only a muffled scream from somewhere beyond the impenatrable blackness. Somewhere beyond the shadows. And it was all his fault. How could she not have know? How could she have never guessed?  
  
"Why?" she demanded again. Just as the question escaped her lips, she felt something thick, warm, and wet fall against her cheek. It seemed to be dripping from the ceiling. She looked up, wondering after the source of it, and saw several, mangled and decaying corpses impaled by shards of glass that dripped bloody poison. Their feet hung down just a few inches above her head, causing an uproar of nausea at the pit of her stomach as the malodorous scent assualted her nostrils. It was his fault. His own wicked sin.  
  
"Why did you do this?"  
  
There was a loud, sharp sound and a flash of light reflecting off metal. Before there was even time for her to utter words of repentance, she felt the seering pain in her side, and her own thick, warm liquid oozed out, filling the darkness with red. It was all she could see now. All she could hear was the deafening silence. He had left her for a painful death, yet she somehow knew that this truth would never plague his conscience.  
  
She was not alone, however. Far from it. She was surrounded by all the others before her, whose blood had been spilt by him. It was all her fault. He had lured her in, and she had trusted him so easily, like the faithless and lonely child she knew herself to be. And now she was among those whom she had inadvertently helped to destroy.  
  
She opened her mouth, feeling the urge to scream overtake her. But death and guilt was tight around her neck, choking the air from her like the twin serpents of a primal justice that had been long since ignored, but never forgotten.  
  
"No salvation for the guilty," a voice hissed in her ear, giving her chills with its hot, putride breath against her ear and neck and gently brushing over her lips. She still couldn't scream. Couldn't breathe.  
  
Suddenly, just as she was certain she would die, her muscles twitched, and her eyes snapped open, revealing the monotonous pattern etched into the blank white ceiling of her new apartment. She realized then that it had been her own hands that were wrapped so dangerously around her neck. It seemed this, or something of the like was always a consequence of the dreams that had tormented her mind for far longer than she could tolerate.  
  
She sat up on her bed, uneasily, and ran her fingers up, beneath her shirt until they felt an abnormality in her skin. Absent-mindly, she allowed her fingers to trace the narrow slit of raised skin that ran vertically up the left side of her abdomen, a remaining reminder of her self-imposed damnation.  
  
"This place is going to be hell," she muttered to herself.  
  
=====================  
  
The next morning, after a night of troubled sleep, Rinoa decided it was time that she acquaint herself with the town in which she was forced to live. Upon stepping outside, she was greated by a warm, sunny day. It seemed so unfitting, but was, in some way a comfort.  
  
The apartment complex was in the middle of the small, quaint town called Balamb. A large, open circle of stone stretched out before it. In the center of that, was a strange fountain with a statue of two people's upper bodies at the top of one set of legs and hips. One seemed to reach for one side, and the other, to the opposite side. Wings stretched on the backs of both, one a pair of feathery angel wings, and the other with a thin, leathery look, like those of a bat. Water trickled from their mouths and collected in a circular pool around their one pair of feet.  
  
As Rinoa saw this, she shook her head, in awe of the town's strange taste in art. She was walking around it, studying it, when she was hit with the disturbing sensation of someone's eyes upon her.  
  
She turned around to see Zell looking at her, again, talking to someone inside one of the shops surrounding the circle. Zell smacked him on the shoulder, and tried to discreetly gesture to her. His friend, sighing in defeat, glanced up at her, only for a moment. But for her, it was long enough.  
  
He had clear, ethereal blue eyes that held a cold, apathetic reflection of what must have been his soul. His hair appeared to be made of shining brown silk, and his face seemed finely chisled from stone. He had broad shoulders and what must have been a well toned chest hidden beneath his shirt.  
  
Rinoa used to believe in love at first sight, but certainly not after all she had been through. However, she had to admit that the feeling she felt upon seeing him, was something extrodinary. Something she had never felt before.  
  
(Just a physical attraction) she told herself, as she forced herself to look away from him.  
  
She looked up at him again, but he was busy trying to get Zell to leave him alone. Appearently he didn't have the same feeling as she did.  
  
Feeling dissapointed that the only one she could seem to interest was Zell, she decided to move on and have a look at the rest of Balamb. In truth, there wasn't really much to it. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and gave her odd looks as she passed them. What a way to make people feel at home.  
  
One of the only upsides to living in Balamb was its location, right on the beach. It was just a short walk through town to the beach, which was usually quiet and peaceful, since Balamb didn't really tolerate tourists.  
  
After touring the town and the beach, Rinoa decided she would find a nice restruant to eat at. Not to mention, she was in need of a rest room.  
  
She found an Italian restruant around the town circle and went inside. She immediately went for the bathroom, of which there was only one. As she was walking toward it, she suddenly slammed into something hard. She looked up to see Zell's friend standing before her.  
  
"Excuse me," he muttered in a soft, but brisk voice.  
  
He pushed past her, barely giving her another glance. She stared after him in awe, until, at last, her brain gave a violent kick to her body.  
  
"Hey wait!" she exclaimed, running after him. After he had turned to face her, she gave him her best smile, extended her hand, and said, "Hi. I'm new to this town. My name's Rinoa."  
  
He ignored her outstretched hand, and gave her a curt nod. "Nice to meet you."  
  
With that, he continued out the door, leaving Rinoa to stare after him with a longing gaze that reflected her ruined pride.  
  
She seated herself heavily at a nearby table, feeling like the most unattractive person on the planet.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about him," came a voice from her side. She looked up to see the waitress, a small, brown-haired girl, standing beside her with a pad and a pencil. "He's always like that," she continued on. "He's just a recluse. Rarely ever comes out of his apartment in the building next to us. They say he's working on something really strange, but no one knows what. He only comes here every so often to get something to eat. The rest of the time, he's usually in his room."  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Doesn't he have a job?"  
  
The waitress shrugged. "No one knows. I heard, from your little conversation, by the way, that you were new in town. My name's Selphie Tilmitt. Good to meet you."  
  
"Good to meet you, too," Rinoa replied.  
  
"Well, I have to take your order now and get back to work, but if you ever need someone to talk to, or someone to show you around town, just come by and ask. As you can tell, I'm a very friendly person."  
  
Rinoa laughed. "So I see. Well, it's nice to know I have at least one person to talk to in this town. I'll have the shrimp alfredo, by the way."  
  
"Okay, gotcha!" she said as she scribbled down the order. "See ya around."  
  
=====================  
  
By the time Rinoa finally returned home, it was late. She had decided to go drown her sorrows with a credit card, and some new clothes, as many women do. Balamb wasn't much for entertainment, but it had some good shopping, at least.  
  
Rinoa was happy to find, upon returning to her building, that Zell was no where in sight. He was really beginning to scare her.  
  
After she had made it to her apartment, she threw down her shopping bags, and decided she would just go to sleep. It had been a long day, after all, and she was well-deserving of a little rest. But she knew it wouldn't be so easy as that. As soon as her eyes were shut, the dreams would begin again, just as they always did. There was no escaping them. She'd already tried everything. Now, all she could do was live with them, and watch as more of herself was drained away with the rising of every new sun.  
  
It was sometime past midnight when she finally did fall asleep. And, just as expected, a dream began to spin in the abysmal depths of her mind known as her subconscious. This time, however, it was far from the same.  
  
She was in her room, standing next to her bed, in only her red, silk, button down night gown, but she wasn't alone. That stranger from before, the one that had caused her so much torment without even knowing it, was there with her, looking at her for the first time. She felt chills go down her spine, as she studied his eyes, which gleamed with his longing for her.  
  
He began to kiss her, much to her surprise. His hands strayed all over her body, setting it on fire with just the slightest touch. She touched him too, but it didn't seem to affect him in the same way. Instead, he seemed dedicated to pleasing her.  
  
It wasn't long before her had layed her down on the bed, and was smothering her still clothed body with light, but highly pleasing kisses. He unbuttoned her night gown and pushed it back, to one side, revealing one of her breasts. He lowered his head down to it and began to torture her with soft licks and rough nibbling. At the same time, he ran a hand down the length of her body until his hand rested between her thighs, on the inside of her night gown. He drove her crazy, then, by sticking his fingers inside of her. Just as felt herself on the edge of the most intense orgasm she could imagine, her eyes snapped open, and she found herself alone.  
  
She flicked on the lamp next to her bed, and reached for her glass of water. After she had taken a few sips to cool her over-heated body, she started to lay back down, but stopped as she saw something resting on the pillow next to hers. It was a single, long-stem red rose....  
  
===================== 


	2. In the Eyes of the Moon

Living for the sake of living  
  
Living 'cause it's too hard to die  
  
Forgetting all my reasons for breathing  
  
Let go of all I'm leaving behind  
  
--- Dark Raion  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
  
The next morning, when Rinoa awoke, she expected the whole thing to have been a dream, created somewhere within the darkness of her sleep- deprived mind. But alas, the rose still sat there, on the pillow, where it had been the night before. Unsure of where it had come from, or why, she gingerly picked it up between her index finger and thumb, and set it on her counter of her kitchen.  
  
Despite the evident lack of sleep, Rinoa knew that she needed to go out and get a job, if she meant to support herself. But where? Her last profession had been a journalist, but she felt she should do something a bit more low key than that. Something where she wouldn't have to risk being known, and possibly being found.  
  
After showering and dressing, she decided to take another quick tour of the town and see what she could find. When she got off the elevator, at the lobby, she was greeted with the sight of Zell leaning on the front desk and talking to Quistis, while, of all things, playing idley with a red rose in a glass vase that was sitting next to the computer monitor. As soon as he heard the elevator drop to the first floor, he turned his attention to it, so as soon as the doors slid open, Rinoa's eyes met with his, sending unwelcome chills down her back.  
  
"Good morning, Rinoa!" he called to her cheerfully with a slight wave. "What's new?"  
  
"You mean since yesterday?" Rinoa asked, sounding a little colder than she had intended.  
  
His smile quickly faded. "Oh. Nothing I guess."  
  
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just had a rough night."  
  
"Oh," he replied, nodding his head in sympathy. He then turned his attention back to the rose on the desk. "So, Rinoa. Do you like red roses?"  
  
"I-I don't know," she stammered nervously, feeling a deep fear well up inside of her.  
  
He arched an eyebrow in question of her strange behavior. "So, what's on the agenda today?"  
  
She shrugged. "I was just going to see if I couldn't find a job."  
  
"You moved here without knowing what kind of work you'd find? Not very smart," Zell commented. When the only reply he recieved was a deadly, "go to hell" look, he quickly ammended by saying, "Of course, there's a lot to say for someone care-free enough to...um.... not worry about that sort of thing.... I guess."  
  
"Thanks....I guess. Well, I need to be going. I've got a lot to do today," Rinoa replied before starting for the door.  
  
"Good luck, Rinoa!" Zell called from behind her with an excited wave.  
  
"Yes, I hope you find something good," Quistis called, looking up from her paper work.  
  
Rinoa cast a half-hearted "thanks" over her shoulder before allowing the doors to fall closed behind her. She couldn't help but wonder why everyone in that town seemed so damn cheerful, if only to each other. Everyone, that is, except for that sexy stranger she'd met the day before.  
  
As she stepped outside into the blinding light of the sun, Rinoa slid her sunglasses on, and looked over the town once again. She couldn't help the sigh of dread that escaped her lips. Though the town wasn't very large, she wasn't looking forward to scouring the area for a decent occupation. Then a thought occured to her.  
  
She made a dash for the Italian restruant that she had eaten at the previous day, hoping Selphie would be there. Of course, their meeting yesterday had just gone to prove her theory about Balamb. She had to wonder if there wasn't something in the water supply.  
  
(Yeah, like prozac) she thought to herself with a small laugh.  
  
When she reached the restruant, sure enough, there was Selphie, and her usual cheery self. Luckily, the place was mostly empty at that time of morning, so she would most likely have time to talk to Rinoa.  
  
"Hi!" she exclaimed as soon as she spotted Rinoa. "You here for breakfast?"  
  
"No, actually I wanted to ask you something. I hate to bother you about this, but do you know of any good jobs available in town?"  
  
"Oh, well, there's a music store nearby that's offering a position. And, they're always looking for people down at the docks to work in the warehouses. But I don't suppose you'd be interested in that, huh? Um....Oh yeah! I just remembered. There's also an opening in the book store in the building next to us."  
  
"That's perfect!" Rinoa exclaimed happily. "I love books."  
  
"Good," Selphie laughed. "It'll be just the right thing for you, then"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. Well, I better go ahead and look into it, now. I would hate it if someone got the job before me."  
  
"Good luck!" Selphie yelled after her as she started out the door. "Come again soon!"  
  
Rinoa smiled and turned to wave at her for a moment before continuing on. She quickly spotted the book store which was simply labeled, "Balamb Books" right next to the restruant, as Selphie had mentioned. As she made the short walk to the entrance, she suddenly stopped, having had that prickling, intolerable sensation crawl up and down her neck and spine, screaming at her sense of awareness that someone's eyes were upon her once again.  
  
She whirled around and searched the surrounding area, expecting to find Zell smiling at her from some bizarre location that he had gone to just for the purpose of seeing her as she searched for her job.  
  
(Don't flatter yourself) she thought, the incident from yesterday still fresh in her mind.  
  
She didn't see anyone. Not anywhere. Yet still she could feel that sensation. This was really beginning to get to her. Something just wasn't right, and something told her it was all Zell.  
  
Deciding that there wasn't any sense in standing there being paranoid, she continued to make her way to the book store. Inside, the modest little shop was mostly empty of people, save the dark-haired girl at the desk. Her hair was long, and fell over her shoulders in unkempt tangles. Her dark eyes were ringed with gold, and a line of stitches ran across her right cheek.  
  
"Hi," Rinoa said, approaching the cash register. "I heard there was a job opening here."  
  
The girl, who was very immersed in her magazine at the moment, glared up at her from over its top and said in a sarcastic, monotonous tone, "Oh really? I'm just soooo thrilled at the possibility of having a new co- worker. But you have to pass the interview first, okay?"  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Okay, that's fine."  
  
"Great," the girl replied, rolling her eyes and chewing noisily on her gum. "First of all, do you know how to read?"  
  
"Yeah," Rinoa said with a slight laugh.  
  
She clapped slightly. "Good for you. So can you like, show people books and shit like that?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Can you make change?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, you're not going to be back there in the porn section jacking off, are you?"  
  
"No, definately not."  
  
"Fine, you're hired," she said. "My name's Lyra. I'll be sure to alert the boss as soon as he gets through brooding over his life and decides to come down from his apartment. That could be years from now, but don't worry, you'll get paid."  
  
"Who is the owner?" Rinoa asked.  
  
Lyra leaned up, until her face was close to Rinoa's. She then blew a big bubble with her gum, popped, grinning slightly as Rinoa flinched at the rush of stale, artificially flavored fruit-smelling air, and said, "No one knows. It's his little secret."  
  
"You don't even know who he is?"  
  
She shook her head and decided to be serious for a moment. "All I know, is that I leave the sales records on the check-out counter at the end of every week. And the next day, I come into work to find an envelope containing my pay check in the place where I left the records. If he ever goes out, which I assume he must, he does it before the store opens, or I suppose on the days when I'm off. Or sometimes, when I'm out on my lunch break. He comes back before I return. So I really don't know who he is."  
  
Rinoa arched an eye brow in thought. "That's really strange."  
  
"No doubt," the girl said. "But I figure he's just some grumpy old man that's too ugly to be out in public much, or something."  
  
Rinoa had to resist rolling her eyes at this explanation. "So when do I start?" she asked, deciding to change the subject.  
  
"I'm taking the day off tomorrow," Lyra replied. "So you'll be taking over tomorrow. In the mean time, go home and make sure you're all rested up for your exciting day tomorrow."  
  
"All right," Rinoa said with a sigh, happy to be able to leave this girl. "What time should I come in?"  
  
Lyra tossed her a key over the desk. "Open the place up at nine a.m. sharp."  
  
"Thanks," Rinoa replied and left, feeling a head ache arise at the back of her eyeballs. Lyra had to have been one of the most unpleasant people she'd ever talked to.  
  
(Guess that disproves my theory about the town) she thought.  
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
After getting the job, Rinoa couldn't resist telling someone of her small, but satisfying victory, so she told the one person in the town that she didn't mind talking to, and whom she was certain would talk back. The one and only Ms. Selphie Tilmitt. So, later that evening when Selphie had gotten off work, she decided she would drag Rinoa out to a small coffee shop for a little celebration. Being a week night, the place was mostly empty, as it seemed most of the town shared a simultaneous bed time.  
  
"Selphie, this place is a little boring, don't you think?," Rinoa said, turning to her new, and only friend.  
  
Selphie waved a hand at her dismissively. "You'll grow to like. It's really the only cool place, aside from the pub, that Balamb has to hang out at ."  
  
Rinoa rolled her eyes and settled her elbows on the table. "This is boring."  
  
"Then let's try engaging in some girl talk," Selphie suggested. "We don't know each other all that well, so we should get to know each other better."  
  
"Okay," Rinoa relented with a sigh.  
  
"I'll go first," her friend replied excitedly. "Where did you move here from?"  
  
Rinoa frowned. "Esthar," she lied.  
  
"Really?! I've always wanted to go there. So, next question. Do you have a boyfriend, or at least any love interests?"  
  
"No," Rinoa replied, pushing the blue-eyed stranger from her mind. "But there is someone who's interested in me."  
  
"Really?! Who?"  
  
"Some guy that lives in my apartment. His name's Zell."  
  
Selphie frowned. "Zell? Uh-oh. You're in trouble."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Zell's a little... how can I put this nicely.... unstabble. He tends to blow things way out of proportion. For instance, he thinks a little crush could be love. But really, it turns out to be an obsession to him. He's a known manic depressive, too. At least, that's what his psychiatrist says. He's also suicidal, and over-agressive, depending on his mood. He doesn't take rejection well at all."  
  
Rinoa shuddered slightly and took a sip of her coffee. "Are you sure about all this? I mean, I admit he creeped me out a little, but still.... he seemed sweet, over all."  
  
Selphie nodded. "Definate."  
  
Rinoa glanced away for a moment, a distant look clouding her eyes. When she looked back to Selphie again, her eyes seemed to hold an enigma of hidden saddness, fear, and guilt. "Then again," she said in a soft, disconnected voice, "it's always the sweet ones that you have to worry about."  
  
Sensing that her new found friend had something profound on her mind and didn't want to be bothered at the moment, Selphie quietly excused herself and went to the bathroom, even though she didn't really have any use for it at the moment.  
  
Rinoa sat back in her chair, lost in thought. As she absent-mindedly scanned over the small coffee shop, ignoring the intoxicating smells of bagels, muffins, and strong black coffee, something on an abandoned table next to her's caught her mind.  
  
She turned her attention to it and saw that it was a newspaper. A very old one at that. The headline read, "Mass Murderer Arrested with Help of Surviver."  
  
After quickly averting her eyes from the offending words, even more bad memories began to surface in her mind.  
  
  
  
The room was swallowed in blackness, and the only light that could be seen was the dim, grayish light of the moon that shone through the open window that he was turned to. The strands of his short, golden hair gleamed with pale light, moving slightly in the breeze as he stood, silent.  
  
She stood behind him, warm tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She knew the truth now, but hadn't she always known? She asked him why. And he had turned away, without so much as a word, and began to stare out at the black line of tall pine trees in the distance. It was as if he had never heard her. As if he were in a world of his own. That was what scared her.  
  
The doctors had said later that he had mental problems. That he would slip off into his own world of false reality before commiting the fatal deed against the innocent person that had fallen victim to his subconciously planned trap.  
  
As she stared at his broad back, she knew something was wronge. Something didn't feel right. She wanted only to leave, and never look back.  
  
She took a few tremulous steps toward the door, inhaling deeply as the hurried beat of her racing heart pounded at her temples. Just as she thought she would reach that small opening of salvation, he uttered to her those words that, for whatever reason, would echo in her mind for eternities to follow.  
  
"You know, Rinoa. I'll always love you."  
  
There came a sickeneing flash that was mirrored in her soft brown eyes like the thunder of the mythical gods as they reveled in their vengefulness, and then, before she could flench, she felt the pain, tearing into her skin and spreading fire through the tender nerves that stretched throughout her body.  
  
She felt to the groud with a low whimper, too frozen with shock and terror to cry aloud. He looked down upon her one last time, an inhuman look of cold furiousity twisting his face, and a glint of sickening satisfaction in his eyes. Then he turned away from her, thinking she was dead, and thinking himself the better for it.  
  
Her body didn't want to go on. It wanted so badly to give up, and accept this fate she believed she deserved. But she fought it with all the will that remained within her, and pushed her body, that suddenly felt like lifting a ton of bricks, up from the ground until she was on her knees. Bright red blood seeped through her fingers as she clutched at the wound in her side, and the short, rough carpet scratched at her knees as she tried to crawl across the floor to the small oak table where the phone rested.  
  
When she finally reached it, she grabbed weakly at the phone and searched her  
  
clouded mind for the number. When it came to her, she dialed it with bloodied, trembling fingers before collapsing on the floor with the phone strung out next to her.  
  
It rang for a few moments, before a voice came over the other end, asking her what her emergency was.  
  
She mumbled all the details that she could remember, vaguely wondering if the person on the other end could understand her.  
  
At last, she could struggle with the weakness of her body no more, and her vision began to go black, her mind slowly thinking that she would never again see light. The last thing she saw before the darkness over took her, was red and blue lights, flashing rythmically through the open window above her, pulsing against the half-lit moon  
  
  
  
"Rinoa, you there?" Selphie asked as she returned to the table to find her friend lost amoung the cloud of her own thoughts again.  
  
Rinoa's head snapped up, her bitter memeory having come to an end. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about some things."  
  
Selphie sighed, "Well, my coffee has long since gone cold, so I guess it's time we should leave."  
  
Rinoa nodded in agreement. "Definately. I really need some sleep."  
  
"I think so, too."  
  
The girls gathered their things and headed home, which meant they had to seperate at a certain point. When Rinoa reached, her apartment complex, she noticed a familiar figure standing outside, as if waiting for something.  
  
As she came closer, the voice belonging to that familiar figure rose from the shadows half-way covering him. "Hey, Rinoa! How'd your job hunt go?"  
  
"Just fine, Zell," Rinoa replied, hoping their conversation would be short, as she was suddenly very tired.  
  
"Good," he said smoothly. "I was, um, wanting to ask you something."  
  
"What?" Rinoa asked worriedly.  
  
Zell looked down at the ground for a moment then continued. "I was wondering if.... um..... you would go out with me."  
  
Rinoa's heart slammed in her chest. What was she to do? She certainly didn't want to go out with him. She wasn't ready for another relationship, yet, and even if she was, he was much to unstable for her liking. She didn't want to go through the same thing again.  
  
"I'm....really sorry, Zell," she said softly, hoping he would take it well. "I'm just not ready for a relationship."  
  
Zell's gaze then lifted to meet hers, and the look in them was unmistakable. They held pure rage.  
  
"S-sorry..." Rinoa stammed again as she slowly backed toward the door. She quickly went inside, feeling lucky he didn't follow her, and rushed upstairs to her room.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Rinoa opened her eyes slowly, the previous night's dreams echoing in her memory. A small smile came over her lips as she thought about him, and his touch. The dream had been the same as the one before, except the events of this one were different, and once again, they ended all too soon. Still, it was a nice escape from the harsh reality of her life.  
  
As she began to rise from her bed, she noticed once again, the red rose on the pillow beside her's. Fear rushed through her, and her heart began slamming in her chest once again.  
  
She stood slowly, taking a deep breath and looking around cautiously. When she didn't see anyone, she went about dressing and showering. Today was the day she started her new job.  
  
With the keys to the book shop in her hand, she walked through the blinding sun across the circle, her warm shower and the sunshine erasing her worries from her mind. What could Zell possibly do now? She was out in broad daylight.  
  
In a few short moments, she reached the store, and unlocked the door. She stepped into the darkened shop with a slight smile on her face, hoping this would turn out to be a good experience. As she was walking over to turn the light on, someone grabbed her around the waist, and the next thing she knew, she could feel cold steel pressing into her neck....  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


	3. Buried in the Sand

Disclaimer: I don't own the novel Hannible by Thomas Harris. Or the new song I'm using, "System" by Chester Bennington of Linkin Park off the Queen of the Damned CD.  
  
I don't know why  
  
Everytime I want to fly  
  
Somebody's gotta try  
  
To hold me down  
  
Hold me down  
  
--- Tommy Lee "Hold me Down"  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
She couldn't move. It was as simple as that. She was paralyzed by fear, rendered speechless by terror. Somehow this was all so devestatingly familiar to her.  
  
Thinking she knew exactly who it was, she began, in a small voice that sounded as if it would shatter with the slightest offending breath from her attacker, "P-please....don't do this."  
  
"What are you doing here?" came the venomous hiss, stinging her tender ear.  
  
The voice that had spoken was low, dark, and deep, with just an edge of hatred slipping into it. Though the voice was somewhat recognizable to her, although she doubted she had ever heard it sound quite the way it sounded now, she knew, almost for certain, that it wasn't Zell.  
  
"I work here," she choked out in a whisper, her bravery returning to her as it was carried along with the adrenaline pumping hastily through her veins.  
  
Suddenly, she was shoved forward. She stumbled, unprepared to catch herself, and was lucky to grab onto a book shelf. She whirled around accusingly, only to be meet with a stranger shrouded in shadows from the darkness of the store.  
  
"You don't work here," he insisted.  
  
This time she knew she recognized the voice. She squinted against the darkness, attempting to regain her vision, and said, "Yes, I do. I was hired yesterday."  
  
The figure stepped over to the wall and flicked the light switch on. Rinoa gasped as her eyes met with the enigmatic blue ones that had haunted her dreams for the past few nights. She could see only those eyes, and the way the rest of her vision blurred with color at the sudden change of light, it gave the scene a surreal effect, causing her breath to catch in her chest.  
  
"It's you!" she exclaimed, having to tighten down on her self-control before adding 'the man of my dreams'.  
  
He arched an eyebrow. "Yeah. It's me. And you're you."  
  
"You...don't remember me, do you?" she asked softly, feeling like a fool. Here she was, dreaming of this man for the past couple of nights, and he didn't even remember meeting her.  
  
"Who hired you?"  
  
"Lyra," she answered. "What's it to you, anyway? I mean, do you go around patrolling people's stores?"  
  
"I own this store," he answered in an annoyed voice. "But if you ever breathe a word of it to anyone, I'll fire you."  
  
Rinoa nodded slowly. "So Lyra knew you were the one that owned the store, but wouldn't tell me because of your orders?"  
  
"No," he replied. "You're the only one that knows."  
  
"Why don't you want anyone to know?" she asked. "What's the big deal?"  
  
"I have my reasons," he murmured. "Now get to work. The store should be open already."  
  
With that, he turned and walked away, heading for a door in the opposite wall that must've led upstairs. As she was staring after him, somewhat in awe, her brain came to life again, and she ran after him, catching him just before he exited the room.  
  
"Hey! What's your name?" she inquired of him.  
  
He turned and glanced at her for just a moment before averting his gaze from her gentle, but probing eyes and saying, "It doesn't matter."  
  
He left her then and, once the door was closed and firmly locked behind his back, assuring that she would not follow, he climbed the old, creaking staircase to the rooms of his apartment. He immediately headed for the door across from the top of the stairs. This was what he often referred to as his "work room", though it was really just a small, stuffy little place where he had shoved his filing cabinet, amoung other things.  
  
He crossed what little space of empty floor there was, to the table where an old monitor sat, staring at him with its wall of forlorn grayness. He pulled out the desk chair that had neatly rested beneath the desk, and flipped a switch on the monitor, causing the ancient piece of machinery to hum loudly as the screen slowly prodouced a black and white image.  
  
(Well, this is certainly a strange turn of events) he thought to himself, as he observed the raven-haired girl on the monitor rest her elbows tiredly on the counter, (but at least now, I can keep an eye on her.)  
  
/////////////////////////  
  
Down stairs, the shop was completely empty, and Rinoa was quickly becoming bored. True, it was rather early in the day, but boredom is a deadly force, reguardless of the time. After an hour or two of busying herself with anything she could think of to do, such as straightening the books on the shelves, or restocking them, she resigned herself to reading Hannible. By lunch hour, she was very immersed in her book, but also very sleeply. Thinking that she might feel more refreshed if she layed her head down on the counter and rested her eyes for a moment, she eventually drifted off to into darkness.  
  
Once again, an odd vision of a stranger came floating past her mind's eye, but this vision was no where near as pleasant as the dreams that she'd had the evening before. And this time, she was seeing things through her own eyes, rather than from outside her own body, as was typical.  
  
  
  
A midly chilly breeze blew up from the ocean, carrying with it the sound of the soft violins that were being played a few decks below. The rythmic motion of the waves entranced the passengers as they danced to a rythm of their own. But she wouldn't be joining them. Someone was waiting for her at the other end of the deck.  
  
As she passed by the windows of the ball room, after giving the young captain of the ship a cheerful nod, she stopped for a moment to examine her reflection. She picked at her short, silky brown hair, making sure it was perfect, and cleared the excess mascera from the black lashes that rimmed her dark chocolate eyes. She pulled at her dark red dress, making sure it fit her form exactly.  
  
Gazing into the window that cast a vague reflection forth for her eyes alone to witness so long as she stood there, her eyes caught on something shining in the lights that lined the upper deck. It was a silver locket with a name ingraved on the front. From her faded image in the window, she couldn't make out the entire name, only the first letter, which was "E".  
  
Finally, after making certain that she was acceptable, she began making her way down the deck again, singing softly to herself.  
  
"You fell away. What more can I say? The feeling's evolved. I won't let it out. I can't replace your screaming face. Feeling the sickness inside. Why won't you die? Your blood and mine. We'll be fine. Then your body will be mine."  
  
She stopped singing as she came to stand beside the one she was supposed to meet. The two of them had sang that song together, not long ago. Just before he broke her heart. And now here he was again, wanting to start over. Who knows, maybe he had changed.  
  
He turned to look at her, with his gleaming blue eyes. There was a dangerous glint there that she had never noticed before.  
  
"Seifer," she began softly as she studied his face. "I'm surprised you wanted to meet me after all that's passed between us."  
  
He shrugged and said, "I tried to find someone that made me feel like you did. But I realized after awhile, that no one could ever take your place. You're the one I've been looking for."  
  
She couldn't help but smile. He always knew how to sweep someone of their feet. "So there's no one else?"  
  
"Of course not. Only you, love."  
  
Her smile grew and she said, "So, why meet me out here? Why out on the ocean?"  
  
"Because, I thought it would be romantic," he said, moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I thought you would like it."  
  
"I do," she answered softly, sighing quietly as he began to kiss down her neck to the place where her shoulder meet her neck.  
  
"You know something?" he asked casually, grazing his teeth against her shoulder.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll always love you."  
  
  
  
Rinoa awoke with the sound of muffled female screaming ringing in her ears. She gently rubbed her temples with her finger tips as she pondered over the origin of the dream. She had seen the whole thing play out through the eyes of the victim, yet she didn't know who this victim was. Perhaps her mind just needed a good rest.  
  
Whatever the case, she found that she had been out for a few hours. It was almost closing time.  
  
As she was straightening her hair and rubbing her eyes, the door that led to the forbidden upstairs suddenly swung open, revealing to her the ever-present scowl that adorned the face of her employer.  
  
"Sleeping on the job?" he asked, studing her actions for a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor.  
  
"W-well," she stammered, cursing herself for being so terribly obvious.  
  
"It's almost closing time," he said. "Gather your things and go home."  
  
Not wanting to upset him, she did as she was told, but stopped when she reached the door, realizing that he may very well be firing her.  
  
"Will I be coming back tomorrow?" she asked nervously.  
  
"No," he replied bluntly. "Tomorrow's Lyra's day. You'll be coming back the day after." He tossed her the keys, then, and said, "Lock up on your way out, Ms. Heartilly."  
  
She smiled at him with relief, which he looked at for all of about two seconds before intently studing the floor. Her smiled faded then, having that awful feeling of rejection return to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said half-heartedly before walking out the door.  
  
She did as she was told and locked the door from the outside, before turning and heading for her apartment. She stopped dead in her tracks when she felt she was being stared at again. She searched the surrounding area to find Zell sitting in the coffee shop, staring at her with absolute hatred in his eyes as he sipped his coffee. Rinoa quickly turned away from him and walked, in a fast pace, for her apartment. She then decided otherwise, and made a quick detour for Selphie's restruant.  
  
Selphie was just getting off work when Rinoa came in, and decided to drag her off to the docks for some fresh ocean air.  
  
"You look like you could use it," she commented on the way there.  
  
"Thanks," Rinoa replied, rolling her eyes. "So do you know that guy that lives in the apartment above the book store?"  
  
"Not personally," Selphie answered.  
  
"Do you know his name?"  
  
"Yeah. He's a mister Squall Leonhart. Why the sudden interest?"  
  
"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Promise?"  
  
When she nodded, Rinoa explained that he was the secret owner of the book store and her new employer. And that he had sworn her to secrecy. Then, something occured to Rinoa.  
  
"He remembered my name," she said, remembering his words to her before she left. "I thought he didn't even remember meeting me before."  
  
Selphie laughed. "The boy's probably got some kind of secret crush on you."  
  
Rinoa shook her head. "I don't think so. He always acts like he can't stand me. Especially to look at me."  
  
"Maybe he's just shy."  
  
"He couldn't be that shy. Anyway, do you know anything else about him? He certainly wouldn't tell me himself."  
  
"Umm.....I think he was in the news like a month or so back. Wait, no that was his sister I was thinking of."  
  
"Sister? He has a sister?"  
  
"Had," Selphie corrected. "She was in the news because she was murdered."  
  
"Really? That must've been horrible for him. How did it happen?"  
  
"She was on a cruise or something, for some reason. Somewhere along the way, she just dissapeared. The last person to see her was the captain."  
  
Rinoa frowned at this information. It sounded awfully familiar after all.  
  
"They never found her," Selphie continued. "Whatever happened to her, she was thrown overboard."  
  
"What was her name?"  
  
"Ellone Leonhart."  
  
Rinoa sighed. This was certainly a strange turn of events. Better to stop thinking about it completely before it drove her crazy. It was just her mind playing with her, after all.  
  
"You alright?" Selphie asked her as she noticed how Rinoa had suddenly fallen silent.  
  
"I'm fine," she answered with another sigh.  
  
"If you wanna know more about it, my boss usually keeps old newspapers in his office. He might have one about it. You want one?"  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. If it wouldn't be too much trouble."  
  
"Of course not," she answered.  
  
"Good, I'll look into it tomorrow. Until then, I've got a date, so I need to be going. If you don't mind."  
  
"By all means," Rinoa laughed. "I should be getting home. I know it's still early, but I'm awfully tired."  
  
Selphie nodded, and split off, heading in her own direction, with a cheerful wave in Rinoa's direction.  
  
Even though she had said she was going home, Rinoa decided to walk for a little while longer. The sun had just set and the sky was glowing with a gorgeous, neon blue. Not only was she entranced by the heavenly layer of blue that covered the earth and hid the empty void of space, but she was in no particular hurry to get home and dream of the one she could never have. While she thoroughly enjoyed the strange, but errotic dreams, it saddened her a bit to know that he had no intrest in her in reality.  
  
After she had done a bit of walking, she found that she was somewhat lost. She wasn't exactly sure which way town was. Silently cursing herself, she continued walking, hoping to find some kind of land mark.  
  
The farther she walked, she began to notice that the beach was littered with small, sharp shards that were pricking her feet. The more she walked, the more numerous they became.  
  
Finally, they started to become bigger, and she noticed that they were long, white splinters. They were brittle, but too hard to be wood. They were scattered over the beach, growing larger with every few feet, until she realized they were peices of bones. The bones themselves, that eventually appeared, seemed to belong to some kind of large animal.  
  
She squinted her eyes against the darkness and noticed what mush have been a huge pile of them underneath a old, worn out dock. As she came closer, she realized they were tangled up in a tattered length of crimson cloth.  
  
When she reached the dock, hoping to climb it and maybe be able to see where the town was, her foot struck something hard the was buried partially in the sand. She bent down to get a better look, hoping that it wasn't what it appeared to be. Hoping that her mind was just paranoid.  
  
She scraped at the sand around it, uncovering it bit by bit. It was worn and had a rough, brittle texture, with a strange, dome-like shape on the top of it. When she had finally uncovered the object in question, she discovered that it was, much to her horror, a human skull. She stumbled back from it, a wave of nausea bubbling up in her stomach, forcing bile to edge its way up her throat.  
  
After dropping it to the ground, Rinoa shook her head and stumbled away, her mind buzzing as if she'd just stumbled onto some immense, dark secret, darker than her own. She wandered back the way she had came and eventually found the way back to town, trying to shake the feeling of anxiety that was growing within her. Instead, she concentrated on getting herself back to her apartment for some much-needed rest.  
  
/////////////////////////  
  
Long after Rinoa had fallen asleep, sprawled out on her bed in her day clothes and on top of the blanket, in the exact same position that she had fallen into in the midst of her terror-driven exhaustion, the latch on the door that led to her neglected balcony lifted up from the outside, and the door swung opened soundlessly.  
  
A pair of cold blue eyes looked down on the sleeping form for a moment, watching Rinoa as she slept. A gloved hand gently pulled the blanket out from beneath her and covered her with it, sensing she was cold. He bent down and kissed her forehead, having to fight down those all- consuming feelings he always felt when he saw her, then touched two fingers to her temple, whispering the words, "Dream of me."  
  
After a moment, when he was cetain that his nightly objective had been accomplished, he drew his fingers away from her. Then, Squall Leonhart laid a red rose on the pillow next to her, and left the same way he came  
  
///////////////////////// 


	4. Scream in the Darkness

The moon hangs around  
  
A blade above my head  
  
Reminds me what to do before I'm dead  
  
Night consumes light  
  
And all I dread  
  
Reminds me what to do before I'm dead  
  
--- Kidneythieves "Before I'm Dead"  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Lyra Carrian was never too serious about life. It all seemed like one big joke to her. The longer you lived, the more tired the joke got, but the earlier you died, the faster the laughter fades. So she had decided long ago that she would simply do whatever it took to get through her miserable days and have a little fun along the way.  
  
The night before, she had been to a party in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. Sure, it was a week night, and she had to work in the morning, but she saw it as an oppurtunity to get her hands on some free booze and drugs. So, at about five a.m. the next morning, she stumbled over to the book store, ignoring the pulsing pain in her head, and dug the keys to the door out of her liquor-stained purse.  
  
Of course, she wasn't supposed to go to work until eight a.m., but with her blury vision, and impared judgement, it might as well have been noon to her.  
  
At this particular hour of the morning, the town was still shrouded in darkness, with only dim street lights to guide the way. In fact, Lyra had run into a wall or two on her way to work.  
  
As she reached the entrance, she leaned against the cool glass sleepily, and shook her head slightly, causing her long, dark hair to ripple in the dim light. She drew in a deep breath then unlocked the door before stumbling inside to the check out counter.  
  
She threw her purse down behind the counter, and was about to open the cash register and count the previous day's profit (as if she could count properly) when she heard the thick glass door open and slam shut. She looked up to see to see someone faintly outlined by the light that strayed in through the glass. Lyra hadn't thought to turn the lights on.  
  
"Heeeey," said Lyra cheerfully through slurred speech. "You crame to buy somefin'?" When there was no reply she said, "Who rar you?"  
  
"Just an old friend," came the reply.  
  
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out through the store, followed by a loud thump as something heavy hit the floor.  
  
**********************  
  
"There are times when I want nothing more than to scream. Where I want to break down and cry. But I can't do either. I can't let out this pain I feel. If I do, there will be questions to answer, and things I must explain, but I've been ordered not to explain anything. I've been condemned to eternal silence for my own protection. There is no release, and there never will be. The guilt is eating me alive. And all I can do is sit back and wait for it to consume me."  
  
Light shown in through the small slits in the blinds and cast eerie shadows over the walls. Crickets chirped relentlessly on the other side of the wall, disrupting the immense silence that had settled over the town like a smothering blanket of thick fog. The scent of roses filled the air with its sweet, seductive scent, brightening her dreams and dimming her hopes.  
  
"Only in my dreams. Only then. In reality, he won't even look at me. He doesn't want anything to do with me. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it, but sit back and watch as Zell follows my every move, and he ignores my very existence. Why couldn't it be the other way around?"  
  
She was starting to drift to sleep again when this thought entered her head. All night long, she'd been unable to sleep, for words had drifted into her head and filled her mind with bitter emotions, and that all consuming guilt that always rested beneath the surface of her thoughts..  
  
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been there most of the night, except for the earlier hours when she'd been in a deep sleep. She couldn't really explain it. It was like a wave of warmth and peace that washed over her earlier in the night, making her feel safe. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone, like a wave of warm ocean water in the cold dead of night, leaving her to her bitter sweet dreams yet again.  
  
As she closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come and save her from her misery, she heard a scream echo out at the edge of her subconcsious. It wasn't something she'd actually heard. It was almost as if she'd felt it.  
  
She stood from her bed and crossed the room to her balcony. Taking a deep breath, she parted the curtain that covered one of the glass doors, and looked out, searching the street below for something, anything unusual. There was nothing, yet still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. It was as if someone had hit the wrong note to a silent melody that played out in her heart, and resonated through her body. She left her place at the balcony door and went into the kitchen. There, she had an impressive collection of cooking knives. She picked out her biggest and sharpest, then grabbed her throw from the couch. She wrapped it around her shoulders, leaned against the wall beside her front door, and sank down to the floor, waiting.  
  
**********************  
  
The scream rang out through the darkness, reverbrating loudly from the depths of his unconcious mind. His eyes snapped open, thinking he was still in that abandoned old graveyard. But no, he had gone to that run- down motel nearby. He couldn't stand to sleep in his own room. Not tonight. Not after all that he'd been put through.  
  
He started to close his eyes again, when he caught a vision of her, scared and alone in her apartment. She knew. At least, she knew that something was terribly wrong. He shook his head and settled back into the small, uncomfortable bed. Thoughts of her danced teasingly through his mind, bringing to the surface all those long-surpressed feelings, and tormenting him to the bottomless pit that was his soul. He was condemned for the rest of eternity to long for something that he could never have.  
  
The next morning, just before eight a.m., a set of keys jingled as they moved into the lock of the book store. Much to the owner's surprise, they found that the door was already unlocked.  
  
As he pushed the door open, his eyes widened and he had to draw in a sharp breath. The sickening odor of blood filled his nose, and the awful crimson color dominated his vision. It was pooled up on the floor, and dripping from the front desk as if the sky had been raining death.  
  
Seeing that the stream of spilled life seemed to be coming from behind the counter, he slowly stepped over to it, his heart pounding in his chest. What he saw, when he looked behind that desk is perhaps better left to one's imagination. Never had he seen a body so mangled, even in his line of work.  
  
His first reaction, of course, was to pick up the phone and call the police, so this is exactly what he did. It wasn't long after that when the book store was suddenly surrounded with flashing red and blue lights.  
  
A few moments after that, he was being interrogated. They found it awfully suspicious that he had been gone that evening. A suspicious coincidence. But he was quickly let alone after they found out who he was.  
  
The store was then flooded with detectives who immediately began searching for evidence. They found strange finger prints inside, but that was all. They took them off to their lab to have them analized. When the results came back, just a few hours later, they had come up with one suspect. All they needed now was a motive.  
  
**********************  
  
Rinoa had fallen asleep in that same spot against the wall, still clutching the knife in her hand. The night had passed without further incident, much to her relief.  
  
She was awakened late in the morning by a pounding at her door. She lifted her head slowly, and realized that it would not do to answer the door with a knife in her hand. She quickly put it away before answering the persistent knocking on her door.  
  
On the other side of the door, she was met with a stern-faced, stiff- postured detective in a gray business suit that matched the slicked back hair covering his head. He adjusted his thick-rimmed, bifocal glasses and extended his hand.  
  
"Good morning, Ms. Heartily. I'm Dan Mathers, police investigator," he paused for a moment to flash his badge at her as he shook her hand. "I need to ask you some questions."  
  
Rinoa nodded and quietly invited him in. She'd been through this before, but that didn't make her any less uneasy. What could possibly have happened now? She was in a new town, living a new life. Nothing was supposed to happen. She was supposed to be safe. But perhaps she was deserving of this. Perhaps this was her punishment.  
  
"Is something wrong?" she asked, sitting down in her living room.  
  
He nodded. "Yes. I'm afraid there's been a murder. You knew Lyra Carrian, correct?"  
  
"Not personally," she replied. "I worked in the same store she did, but different shifts."  
  
"Yes, well, do you know if she had any connection with a Mr. Zell Dincht?"  
  
"Zell Dincht?!" Rinoa choked out in surprise.  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"He's the maintinence man for the building. He's been following me around since I got here," she admitted.  
  
"Has he? In a threatening manner?"  
  
She nodded gravely. "Yes, I would say so. He asked me out, and I said no, and he seemed to be watching me when I went to work. It kinda creeped me out."  
  
"Well, he may well have thought that you were Lyra. After all, we've concluded that it was still dark out when the incident occured. She has dark hair, about the same length as yours. Yes, I believe that's all I need to know."  
  
"What do you have connecting him to the crime?" she asked.  
  
"Finger prints," he answered as he stood and headed for the door. "All we needed was the motive, which we now have, thanks to you. I'll inform you if we need your assistance on anything else."  
  
She nodded slightly, "Alright."  
  
After seeing the investigator to the door, Rinoa sank back against the wall. It was all happening again. And it was all her fault.  
  
**********************  
  
"C'mon, Rinoa. You have to get out of this apartment!" Selphie exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry, Selph," Rinoa replied half-heartedly. "I'm just not in the mood."  
  
It had been two days since Lyra's murder. A warrant was out for Zell's arrest, but he was no where to be found. It was thought that he had skipped town after the murder. Meanwhile, Rinoa barely left her apartment. Selphie thought she was afraid of Zell finding her. Rinoa let her think that. She couldn't tell her the truth, which was that she was depressed. Death seemed to follow her where ever she went, looming over her like a cold shadow of a hellish beast.  
  
"I know," Selphie replied. "But he's nowhere near Balamb. If he was, they'd have caught him by now."  
  
"Yeah, I know. There's just no reason for me to get out. I can't go to work. The place is roped off, which makes me wonder how Squall managed to convice them to let him stay in his apartment."  
  
Selphie nodded. "Yeah, especially after he was suspiciously out of town the night of the murder."  
  
"Has he lived here all his life?"  
  
"As far as I know," Selphie replied with a cautious edge to her voice.  
  
"Was he always so quiet and secretive?"  
  
"Yeah, but not to the same extreme as he is now. He got much worse after his sister's death," she said.  
  
"I would imagine so," Rinoa said sympathetically. "Poor thing. It must have shattered him."  
  
Selphie gave her an odd look. "You really like him, don't you? Anyway, I don't think it was so much that his sister died as it was that fact that she was murdered, and he doesn't know who."  
  
"What did his sister look like?"  
  
"Brown hair, brown eyes, really skinny. Liked the color red."  
  
Rinoa frowned in thought, and even Selphie could she the wheels turning in her head. That wasn't good. No, not good at all.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Selphie asked.  
  
"No. I just remembered there was something I need to go work on. Didn't you say that the captain of the ship was the last person to see her before her death?"  
  
"Ellone? Yeah. Captain Nida something. He lives down at the docks. Doesn't go out on ships anymore. Not since Ellone's murder."  
  
"Thanks Selph. I need to go check on some things then. Do you mind?"  
  
Selphie shook her head, but laughed. "You're going to try to solve his sister's murder? Geez Rinoa. You don't even know the guy."  
  
(Yes, I do) Rinoa thought. (I know him from my dreams.)  
  
"Rin, you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered quickly. "I'll see you later."  
  
**********************  
  
Rinoa couldn't say that she wasn't somewhat scared of running into Zell. Especially near the docks, where everything seemed so quiet and isolated.  
  
After doing a bit of research, she found out that the captain of Ellone's fated journey lived in a small, out of the way shack on the farside of the docks with his wife, who was rumored to be fortune teller.  
  
When she arrived at the house (if you could call it that) she knocked timidly on the door and hoped he wouldn't have any trouble answering her questions.  
  
An older looking woman answered the door wearing a silk, royal blue kimono with gold dragons embroidered into it. She had unruly brown hair that fell in her face and was tainted with gray streaks, here and there.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked in a raspy voice.  
  
"I was looking for Nida, the captain. I wanted to ask him some questions."  
  
The woman crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow. "You're not another one of those news reporter people, are you?"  
  
"No, definately not," Rinoa answered quickly.  
  
"Come in then. My name's Xu. My husband will be in after a bit. He's been doing a lot of fishing lately. In the mean time, let me tell you your furtune."  
  
"I don't have any money on me," Rinoa lied.  
  
"S'okay. I'll do it for free. You have an interesting aura that I'd like to look into. If you don't mind."  
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt."  
  
Xu led Rinoa through the over-decorated living room and through a set of purple beaded curtains. Inside, was a low table covered with a richly colored silk cloth. On either side of the table was a mass of red, cushiony pillows for sitting on. On the table, there was nothing but a deck of tarot cards, and an ashtray that held a smoking cigarette, which awaited its owner's return.  
  
Xu seated herself on one side of the table and took her cigarette in one hand, and her tarot cards in the other. She shuffled them up for a moment, then drew a few of them and laid them out on the table in their proper positions.  
  
"My. I've never seen anything like this before. You have been through a lot in your life recently. Correct?" she asked, glancing up at Rinoa, who was seated across from her. Rinoa couldn't help but nod. "Well, despite all that you've been through, it looks like you are about to go through worse. Yes, there is a great darkness following you through life. Something of a long forgotten past. It will come back for you, soon. But in a way that you would never expect."  
  
"Right," Rinoa said disbelievingly. "Is that all?"  
  
Xu nodded. "Yes. And just in time. I hear my husband coming in this very moment."  
  
At these words, a tired man stumbled into the room. His eyes were dark and dull, as if the life had slipped out from them. Thick stubble covered his chin and weathered cheeks, and his hair was black, lightened with gray. With him came the heavy scent of fish bait mingled with the aromas of the sea.  
  
Upon seeing the stranger sitting across from his wife, he asked, "Xu, isn't past your closing time?"  
  
"This guest of ours is here to see you," Xu replied, standing up.  
  
His eyes darted from Xu to Rinoa, and back again. "I don't accept reporters anymore."  
  
"She's not a reporter. She just wants to research the incident."  
  
"Why?" he asked, turning to Rinoa all of a sudden. "Why this, of all things?"  
  
"For a friend," she answered softly.  
  
"Fine then," he said. "Come in here to the living room and I'll let you interrogate me. Xu, why don't you fix our inquisitive friend here a cup of tea?"  
  
"Really, that's not-"  
  
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to be a bad host," he said sarcastically.  
  
Grudgingly, Rinoa followed him into the afore mentioned living room and took a seat in an over-stuffed arm chair as she studied the emptiness in the man's eyes and the lack of emotion on his face.  
  
"So what do you want to know?" he demanded after a moment.  
  
"What did she look like?"  
  
"She had short, thin brown hair, and a soft, round face. She was thin, but had a good figure. But the thing I noticed most about her was that strange glint in her eyes."  
  
"What glint?" Rinoa asked, sliding to the edge of her seat.  
  
"It's difficult to describe, really. It was almost.... inhuman, I guess you could say. She seemed so sweet and innocent, yet there was this aura about her, this utter darkness. I don't know. Maybe it was just the mark of death upon her. I wish I would've known. I would've done something. Now I live with the guilt, and see her face everyday. I can't help but think what should've been. But it's too late to do anything now."  
  
Rinoa was suddenly overcome with sympathy for this man. She knew all too well what it was like to live with the burden of regret. It stayed with her always, a shadow of the most bitter kind, hovering like a ghostly companion at her side. It was invisible to all who could see her, yet its presence was branded into her mind.  
  
"I know what its like," she said, her voice a faint whisper.  
  
He laughed sourly. "Not like this, you don't."  
  
"You'd be surprised," she replied, her eyes misting over as she looked away, some vision of the past dancing through the scenery of the present.  
  
He drew in a deep breath, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when his wife entered the room, carrying a tray that held two cups of steaming pepermint tea.  
  
"Tea's ready," she anounced, walking to the middle of the room where the two sat.  
  
"Actually, I think I have all I need. I should be going," Rinoa said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Xu asked.  
  
Rinoa nodded and cast a brief glance at her husband. "Yes. I need to be going. I have things to take care of at home."  
  
With that, she called out a brisk farewell that fell flat in the ears of it recipients, and made a run for the door.  
  
"What was that all about?" Xu asked once she had left.  
  
"There's something strange about her, but I just can't put my finger on it. It reminds me of Ellone, though, and the way she was before her death."  
  
**********************  
  
Rinoa decided, after leaving the eerie couple's home, to return to the place where she'd found that pile of bones. Something about it seemed to call to her. She studied the area carefully, and finally came to the conclusion that this could very well be the body, or at least the remains of Ellone Leonhart.. She'd been murdered and tossed over-board, another victim of Seifer's insanity. However well the peices seemed to fit together, though, she was worried about using her dreams as a guide. Could it have been a coincidence? It wasn't likely. And what was she to do about it, now that she knew?  
  
(How do I tell him?) she wondered. (How do I tell Squall that I know who his sister's murderer is? He'll never believe me.)  
  
As these thoughts pounded relentlessly in her mind, she slowly made her way home, too wrapped up in her thoughts of Squall to worry about Zell.  
  
She made it home safely, to her subconcious relief. When she arrived home, there was a message on her answering machine from Selphie, who kept babbeling on about the annual town dance, and how they'd have to go shopping for a nice dress to wear.  
  
Rinoa shook her head, laughing slightly at Selphie's cheerful and persistent attitude. She slipped her coat off her shoulders and started to open the door to her closet as she listened to Selphie's ramblings. As she was opening the door, she felt something heavy pressing against it from the other side. She allowed the door fall open, and out came Zell along with it.  
  
********************** 


	5. Music of the Mind

And if time's elimination  
  
Then we've got nothing to lose  
  
Please repeat the message  
  
It's the music that we choose  
  
--- Gorillaz "19-2000"  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Rinoa jumped back, and grabed at the steel bat that was tucked away beneath her bed. She raised it over her head and was about to bring it down, when she realized that he was already dead. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, staining his pale cheeks. His stomach and chest had been torn open down the center, exposing his inner-workings to the open air. One of his shoulders had been ripped open, and the muscle inside it was shredded clear to the bone.  
  
Rinoa quickly looked away, placing a hand over her mouth to keep from making the scene even worse. She slowy backed away, still gripping the cold steel in her hand, and never taking her eyes away from the mangled corpse.  
  
Finally, after she thought she was far enough away, she flung the bat to the floor and made a run for the telephone. She had to call the police.  
  
As she waited for someone to pick up the phone, she began to wonder who the murder was. It was doubtful that Zell killed Lyra, if someone killed him. Unless they had killed him for revenge. But who? Whoever it was must have known her. Why else would they shove the corpse in her closet. It had to be some kind of sign, or warning. Was the killer going to come for her next?  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
Rinoa threw down the last of her suitcases that she'd been forced to pack. She could no longer stay in her apartment. It was now a major crime scene. Instead, she had to stay in an apartment across the hall, until they could find a place to relocate her, for her own safety, of course.  
  
She'd already been questioned twice the previous night, yet still, they had no suspects in mind. They were utterly clueless. But something bothered Rinoa. She was told that Lyra's body had been mangled much in the same way that Zell's had. She'd seen it before. It was all too familiar.  
  
As the investigator in front of her droned on about the different possibilities and charges, another memory floated through her mind.  
  
She drove up into the drive way of his house, making sure that everything was in order inside the house, while he was away on his weekend- long business trip. It was nearing dark now, she knew she was late, and that he would be home soon, but she had gotten tied up at work the day before. If nothing else, she could at least surprise him.  
  
As she entered the house, she noticed that everything looked the same as it had before. Didn't it? She wasn't sure why, but something about the basement door caught her eye. It was slightly ajar, and a strange scent was floating up to meet her nose.  
  
She traveled down the stairs to the dark, underground room below and slid her hand along the wall until it caught on the light switch. As soon as the light was on, she saw it. How could she not?  
  
The tattered remnants of a body was sprawled out over a small wooden table in the center of the room. It had just been left there to decay in a pool of dried blood.  
  
Rinoa whirled around, a small shriek escaping her lips. She ran out of the basement and made it back to the living room, just as he was stepping in the door. He knew. And he couldn't let her get away. It would endanger him, as well as the others, he had said to her. What others?  
  
"Ms. Heartilly, are you listening to me?"  
  
Rinoa's head snapped up in surprise. No, she hadn't been listening, but she wasn't about to tell him that.  
  
"Yes, sir. I heard what you said. I understand that I can press charges for breaking and entering as well."  
  
He nodded. "Good, good. Well, we're going to try to find you some place safe to stay. In the mean time, you are to leave your stuff here, and stay here when you need to. There will be someone guarding the door and the outside, so no one will be able to get in."  
  
She nodded, "Thank you, sir."  
  
"You're very welcome. Now, I'll be leaving. If you need anything, feel free to ask one of the officers stationed here."  
  
"I will, sir. Thank you."  
  
He left then, leaving Rinoa alone in the new, foreign apartment. She hadn't been living in her other apartment very long, but she had gotten used to it. It felt somewhat like home, now. This place just felt empty. She didn't want to stay there.  
  
She walked over to the window, sighing, and gazed out into the busy street. taking note of the modern arcitecture. Everything felt like a slow, surreal dream. It was all happening again, just the same as it had before. It could only be one person. Seifer Almasy. His name was like a curse, ringing sharply in her mind and hovering over her head like a dark storm cloud.  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, her voice a quiet whisper.  
  
When she received no answer, save a violent gust of wind against the strong brick fortress of her apartment, she emitted a bitter laugh before collapsing against the wall in an exaughsted heap. Of course there wouldn't be an answer. Was she expecting some deep voice to come booming out of the sky? Life wasn't that simple. Life.... she felt like she was traped in purgatory.  
  
"But you're already dead in purgatory," she said, answering her thought aloud. "So there's no chance of dying."  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by her own yawning. She hadn't been to sleep all the night before. So, despite the fact that she didn't really feel safe in this apartment, and it had no furniture, including a bed, she curled up against the wall where she was at, and fell asleep.  
  
When she awoke, it was dark, and probably sometime around midnight. She had no clock with which to tell.  
  
Though she was still sleepy, the fear and uncertaintiy of last night having taking its toll on her, she stood from her spot near the window and walked out onto the balcony. She wasn't sure why she went out there. Her mind was void of thoughts, and her body moved without effort, almost like she was possesed.  
  
She leaned up against the stone barrier that was there to keep her from falling off the edge and gazed down at the empty circle below. There was something immensely different about it this time.  
  
Rather than the modern arcitecture she had seen earlier, the buildings in the town had suddenly taken on a more victorian style. Directly below her, was the fountain, which looked exactly the same as always. But there was a little girl with light brown hair and a red Sunday dress balancing and walking on its edge. She was singing a very familiar song as she did so, and was twisting and turning in a youthful dance.  
  
"Why won't you die? Your blood and mine. We'll be fine. Then your body will be mine. So many words can't describe my face. This feeling's evolved. So soon to break out. I can't relate. To a happy state. Feeling the blood run inside."  
  
In the middle of her song,, she suddenly stopped at the front of the statue. A strange smile came over the young girls face as she studied it. Suddenly a clear, feminine voice called out to the little girl, catching her attention.  
  
"Honey, what are you doing out here?" she asked. Obviously it was the girl's mother.  
  
She looked up to her mother, a wicked gleam shining in her eye. The hair on the back of Rinoa's neck stood up at the sight. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, at the bottom of her soul. She squeezed her eyes shut as it happened, though she couldn't shut out the sound of the mother's scream.  
  
Rinoa suddenly couldn't taken it anymore. She ran into her apartment and leaned against the door of the balcony, still shaking in fear.  
  
(I need a shower) she thought after a moment.  
  
Down stairs, a female cop stood on the ground just below Rinoa's balcony with a gun in her hand, studying the empty street around them. A tall, dark man walked up behind her silently, and before she could turn around, he pressed two fingers to the temple of her head. She closed her eyes and began to sway back and forth, as if she were in a trance. He took the oppurtunity to climb the building to her new balcony.  
  
Inside, Rinoa felt a tingling sensation start to run through her body. Someone was in her apartment. She felt it. She quickly turned the water off and brushed her raven hair until it was smooth again. She then wrapped herself in a towel and cautiously stepped outside her door, looking around. When she realized that she couldn't see anyone, she walked back over to where she been sleeping before and collapsed against the wall again. She was shaking and on the verge of tears. Was this paranoia, or perhaps delirium? She didn't know. But she didn't think she'd ever feel safe again.  
  
After she had finally fallen into a troubled asleep, Squall stepped out from the shadows where he had been hiding and kneeled down beside her. Her skin was still soaking wet and icy cold. She was shaking violently from both the cold, and her own fear. Small whimpers rose from her throat, as she was in the midst of a horrifiying dream. He touched her cheek and she abruptly stopped her trembling and crying. He concentrated for a moment, then laid the rose beside her. She was calm. As soon as he started to walk away from her, however, she began to shake again. So, he took one last glance out of the window, and shook his head as he saw the little girl below, dancing around the fallen body. Then, he slowly pulled her into his arms and laid down with her, stroking his hands through her wet hair as he drifted off to sleep with her.  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
When Rinoa woke up the next morning, it was to the ringing of a telephone. She rose slowly and felt for the phone which was strung out over the floor. She snatched the phone off the hook and put it to her ear. "Hello?"  
  
"Rinoa! You're okay! I couldn't reach you all day yesterday. I was worried after all that happened," a voice exclaimed.  
  
"Selphie?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. So how are you?"  
  
"As well as anyone in my position could be, I suppose," she answered.  
  
"Okay. Well, have you been out of the house at all?"  
  
"I don't really feel up to it, Selph. I haven't been in the mood."  
  
"Oh, come on, Rinoa. Sitting in your apartment brooding about it, won't help you any. Come on. Let's go somewhere."  
  
"Like where?" Rinoa asked exasperatedly.  
  
"How about...." she paused a moment to think, "the art museum! Yeah, that sounds good. How 'bout it?"  
  
Rinoa sighed, "Fine. Just let me get dressed and I'll meet you at the restruant, okay?"  
  
"Great!" Selphie exclaimed. "See ya!"  
  
Wearily, Rinoa got dressed and walked over to the restruant to meet Selphie, as promised.  
  
"Let's go!" Selphie exclaimed. "You like art, right?"  
  
"Yes," she answered sharply. "Let's just do this, already."  
  
They made thier way down a few streets until they came to an extravegently designed building. Once they were inside, they were met by a young, white-haired woman.  
  
"My name is Fujin, and I'll be your guide. So, if you'll follow me, we'll get started."  
  
Rinoa let out an audible sigh as she followed behind the guide and Selphie. She was definately not in the mood for this today.  
  
They went through several rooms filled with beautiful, sophisticated art by people like Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, and Edward R. Hughes. It was all very interesting, and beautiful, but there was one painting in particular that caught her eye. It was in the local's section. It was a painting of a little brown-haired girl in the red dress standing on the edge of the fountain, which was surrounded by Victorian style buildings, and looking down at her fallen mother.  
  
"Who painted this?" Rinoa asked, suddenly taking interest in the painting.  
  
Their guide studied the painting for a moment. "That painting was done by a Mr. Irvine Kinneas."  
  
"Really? Is he still alive?"  
  
Fujin shrugged. "I'm not sure. Last I heard, he lived somewhere down by the docks."  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
Rinoa had to know what it was that she saw. And why this painting had the exact same image on it as what she saw the night before. Once again, it was a short time after night fall as she traveled down to the docks once more. It was a cool evening and the moon was large and full. The stars glittered in a sharp contrast to the black void upon which they rested, and the scent of the ocean wrapped around the warehouses and spread like a fog over the area.  
  
She wasn't sure exactly where it was she wanted to go, so she just walked aimlessly around, hoping she would finding something helpful soon.  
  
"Are you lost?" came a voice from behind her.  
  
She spun around to find herself facing a pair of laughing blue eyes. A man with long red hair pulled into a pony-tail sat on an old crate with a short, thin "cigarette" in his mouth.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Name's Kinneas. My friends usually call me Irvine, though."  
  
"Really? You're the one that did that painting? The one of the little girl and the fountain?"  
  
He nodded, taking a drag off his joint. "Yeah. It was the only thing I ever got credit for painting."  
  
Rinoa looked down at the ground for a moment, trying to figure out how to approach him with this odd question of hers.  
  
"You've seen the little girl?" he asked after a few moments of silence.  
  
"You mean, in your painting?"  
  
"No. I mean, outside your window."  
  
Rinoa's mouth fell open. "How did you know?"  
  
"You know why the little girl did what she did to her mother?"  
  
"No."  
  
"She was one of them."  
  
"One of who?"  
  
He took a deep puff then said, "They're evil. Well, some of them. Others are good. But in a way, they're all the same."  
  
Rinoa arched an eyebrow. "Then what's the difference?"  
  
"The music in your head."  
  
"Music?"  
  
He nodded then pointed to the moon. "Do you hear it? Do you hear that haunting, yet soothing melody? It seems so familiar, though you've never heard it before? And it seems to pulse with the rythm of your heart?"  
  
She listened for a moment, trying to penetrate the silence. There was a faint, distant melody swirling in the darkness somewhere beyond her.  
  
She nodded, "Yes. Just barely."  
  
He smiled. "Its something only you, and the others of your kind can hear, and then, only when you try, or when something goes wrong, and the rythm is disturbed."  
  
"What kind?"  
  
He studied her for a moment then said, "I saw it happen. I saw the little girl kill her mother. Her mother wasn't the same as she was. And that little girl wasn't really a little girl. But I was a witness all the same. And I painted that picture of it. It was the last thing I ever painted. She realized after I released that painting that I had seen it all. Then I became a victim. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be going." He stood and threw his joint to the ground before stomping it out. He then turned and started to walk toward the ocean. "Remember the music," he called over his shoulder.  
  
She ran after him, still puzzled. "Hey wait!"  
  
He didn't turn around. And she came to an abrupt hault when she saw him step into the surf, and slowly dissapear.  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 


	6. The Dance

There's a vulture on my shoulder  
  
It's plotting my defeat  
  
Euphoric, hollow rapture  
  
I'm drowning in deceit  
  
--- Dark Raion  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Are you alright?" Selphie asked, glancing over at her new roommate.  
  
"I'm fine, Selphie," Rinoa replied, sighing slightly. Selphie was her best friend, and she loved her to death, but sometimes she could be awfully annoying.  
  
It had only been a day since Rinoa's strange visit to the docks. Since then, she'd been invited to move into Selphie's apartment while the police continued their investigation. So far, things had been going well, even though Rinoa found herself in a dark mood which contrasted violently with Selphie's constant cheerfulness.  
  
The two sat in the living room, gazing at the television screen while they talked over meaningless gossip. A stern faced man mouthed words on the muted TV screen, telling about the latest news around the globe. Neither had been paying much attention to it, until a familiar face suddenly apeared on the monitor, giving Rinoa goosebumps. She quickly reached for the remote and unmuted it.  
  
"This pshyciatric patient and mass murderer, Seifer Almasy, escaped from Angel Haven, the mental asylum he was sent to after being found criminally insane. There is no word as of yet on how he managed to escape. It's a very mysterious case, it seems. He has yet to be found. If you have seen this man, it is imperative that you inform the authorities immediately. This man is very dangerous."  
  
Selphie made a face. "Creepy isn't it?"  
  
(You have no idea) Rinoa thought as she stared blankly at the floor.  
  
"Rinoa? Are you sure you're okay?" Selphie asked her again.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking how worried those people must be."  
  
"What people?"  
  
Rinoa thought carefully for a moment. "The people that work at the mental asylum. They probably feel responsible."  
  
"Yeah, you're right," Selphie replied thoughtfully. "But let's not let that get us down. Do you know what's tomorrow night?"  
  
Rinoa sighed, fearing what was to come next, and said, "No, Selphie, I don't."  
  
"Did you even get my message before? You know, about the dance?"  
  
"Yes, I got it. But I really don't think I feel like going."  
  
"Come on, Rinoa! I know this whole murder thing has got you down, but this should cheer you up! And anyway, he's going to be there."  
  
"Who?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Squall."  
  
"Why should I care if he's there?" she replied nochalantly. "And how do you know he'll be there?"  
  
Selphie laughed. "Please! Your eyes light up every time you even think you see him. You even say his name in your sleep!"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
Selphie's cheerful laugh was accompanied by a slight blush. "Let's just say that you're very loud when you dream about him. I can even hear it in my room. Must be some really nice dreams."  
  
Rinoa blushed, but smiled all the same. "Yes, they are. But they're not all like that. In my dreams he's very sweet, and loving. Nothing like the way he treats me in real life. I guess I'm just a hopeless fool."  
  
Selphie shook her head. "No. I bet he's exactly that way underneath it all. People are like roses. They have to bloom before you can see their inside."  
  
"That was very... perceptive, Selph."  
  
"I know. Wouldn't expect it from me, would you? Anyway, he is going to be there. I think he's got some kind of important meeting that he has to attend there. So come on. Let's go get you a dress that'll knock him dead."  
  
Rinoa smiled slightly as she thought of the two of them dancing gracefully across the dance floor, the center of attention.  
  
"If you insist," Rinoa answered.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Rinoa glanced in the mirror again, smiling radiantly at herself. She wore a long, dark red, off the shoulder dress that had slits up the side of both of her legs, and was low-cut, showing off a tasteful amount of cleavage.  
  
She turned around to see Selphie, who was getting some minor adjustments on her strapless, medium-length, forest green dress.  
  
"How do I look?" Rinoa asked her.  
  
"Amazing!" she exclaimed. "His jaws gonna drop to the floor when he sees you!"  
  
"Who's jaw?" came a voice from behind Rinoa. She turned around to see Quistis smiling at the two girls as she stood in a gold, backless dress with a thin silk wrap draped over her arms.  
  
"Squall Leonhart's," Selphie replied innocently.  
  
Rinoa cringed in embarresment. Why not just hang a banner over the top of the bookstore?  
  
"Don't worry, Rinoa," Quistis said reassuringly, noticing Rinoa's reaction. "I won't tell anyone. Not even him."  
  
"Thanks," she replied.  
  
"I must say, you have good taste in men. But then again, I think he's universally handsome. All the girls in town will be using this dance as an oppurtunity to catch his attention. Except for me, of course. And those that are too old, or married."  
  
"Why not you?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"I've had a crush on him for as long as I can remember, but he never returned the feeling. After awhile, I just gave up, and decided that it was simply a lost cause. It seems that way for everyone."  
  
"Oh," Rinoa said, an edge of dissapointment creeping into her voice.  
  
"But, then again, there is only one right soul mate for a person. Who knows? Maybe you'll be his? But you'll never know unless you try to reach him."  
  
Rinoa smiled. "Thanks Quistis. I'm sure you'll find somebody, too."  
  
Quistis smiled back then headed back to her dressing room. "Thanks, Rinoa. I'll see you two girls tomorrow night."  
  
After they had finished picking out their dresses and getting them adjusted to better fit them, they returned home to get some sleep so they could get up early and buy some shoes and accesories before getting ready.  
  
Rinoa had to sleep on the couch, since Selphie's apartment only had one bedroom. So, after brushing her teeth and putting on her nightgown, she layed down on the couch and watched old, muted re-runs of long since canceled shows.  
  
She was just nodding off to sleep when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She looked up and was met with a pair of blue and silverish eyes.  
  
"Squall?" she asked grogily.  
  
He nodded and kneeled down close to her, so that they were face to face.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a whisper. "How did you get in?"  
  
"The window. I thought you were asleep."  
  
She shook her head. "No. Why?"  
  
He stroked the side of her face with his hand. "I just wanted to see you and make sure you were doing okay."  
  
"Then why didn't you come by earlier?" she asked, laughingly.  
  
"I didn't want you to know that I cared," he answered. "But I do. I love you."  
  
"But you barely know me," she replied.  
  
"I've always known you," he said, giving her a soft kiss on her lips and wrapping his warm arms around her. "I just don't remember."  
  
"Then how do you know that you really know me?"  
  
"I could never fully forget you," he whispered back. "Go to the window."  
  
"What?" she asked, breaking away from him slightly.  
  
"Go to the window."  
  
Rinoa's eyes snapped open, and once again she found herself alone. Of course she would. Didn't she always? But just out of curiosity, she went to the window, even as she was laughing at her own foolishness.  
  
Slowly she parted the curtains and gazed outside, expecting to find only the empty street below her. Instead, she saw a young, golden-haired woman in an old-fashioned dress of a soft floral pattern. Her hair was wrapped up in a tight bun, and she walked straight, and steadily forward. But that wasn't the worst thing about the scene below. Yet again, the buildings had changed. They now had the same Victorian styles as the time before.  
  
"Rinoa? What is it?" Selphie asked, as she looked around Rinoa and out the window.  
  
"Do you see her?" Rinoa asked suddenly.  
  
Selphie gave her an odd look. "Who? Rinoa, are you absolutely sure you're alright?"  
  
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some air. I think I'll go for a walk."  
  
"If you really think that's a good idea," Selphie said. She was beginning to get very worried about her friend.  
  
Rinoa quickly threw on her clothes and ran down stairs, deciding to go in the same direction as the woman she saw. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it looked like Quistis, and she was heading for her apartment complex.  
  
When Rinoa reached the street, it was empty, and everything appeared normal. But she decided to head to the apartment building anyway.  
  
The lights in the lobby were off, even though it was still somewhat early, and the thick glass doors that led inside remained unlocked. She slowly pushed the door open and looked inside. She couldn't see through the darkness but an almost metallic scent lingered in her nostrils that could only be one thing. She cautiously snuck across the polished tile floor until she was in front of the desk. She wanted to throw up. There lay Quistis, sprawled out over the desk in a tattered heap, like all the corpses before her.  
  
Rinoa turned away and ran, a million thoughts running through her head. She never really knew Quistis that well, but she had been very nice to her. And it was Seifer's work, she knew it. The report on TV earlier just proved her suspicions. No doubt, he would come after her. She was the one who turned him in, after all.  
  
Before she knew it, she was back at Selphie apartment door, letting herself in.  
  
"Rinoa, what happened?!" Selphie asked worriedly, after observing the state of her best friend.  
  
"Lock the doors," Rinoa choked out through her tears. She knew well that doors wouldn't stop him, but it would make her feel just a mite bit better.  
  
"But, Rinoa-" Selphie began, but was interrupted when Rinoa suddenly ran to the bathroom and fell to her knees in front of the toilet. A soft sigh escaped Selphie's lips as she walked into the bathroom behind her and pulled her hair back out of her face.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
When Rinoa awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. She took a few moments to glance around the room before realizing it was Selphie's. Just as she was about to get up from the bed, Selphie opened the door and walked inside.  
  
"I see you're up," she said quietly. Rinoa could immediately tell that something was wrong. Whenever Selphie wasn't cheerful, there was some major problem bothering her. "I let you sleep in here last night, by the way, since you were sick."  
  
"Selphie, I'm not sick," Rinoa corrected. "I just had a bad night, was all."  
  
"If you say so," Selphie replied uneasily. "I'm afraid I just got wind of some bad news, though."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Quistis.... she's dead," Selphie announced flatly, even as her eyes glittered with tears.  
  
"I know," was all Rinoa had to say. Selphie looked up at her with a wild mix of fear and confusion in her eyes.  
  
"You... how? Did you...?"  
  
"No, Selphie. I just know.... do you trust me?"  
  
Selphie thought seriously for a moment before answering, "Yes. I do."  
  
Rinoa smiled then said, "Is the dance still on?"  
  
Selphie nodded. "They wouldn't cancel the dance for anything."  
  
"Are you still up for going?"  
  
"Yeah. I didn't know Quistis that well. But it still pains me to hear about all this."  
  
"I know what you mean," Rinoa replied. "Well, if we're still going to go, we need to go pick up our dresses and shoes."  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
The dance was being held at a beautiful two story mansion north of the circle. It was made of white stone with Greek columns along the outside, a large balcony on the second story, and a dome-shaped roof.  
  
Through the set of thick, arched, white-painted oak double doors, was the ball room where the dance was to be held. High heels clicked loudly as they crossed the shining marble floor, some tapping out a rythm that was well entwined with the music, which floated through the air like a fine perfume.  
  
The room itself was circular, and had a beautifully polished stair case which led upstairs. The house seemed to be centered entirely around the circular ball room, as the above floor was also circular, and covering only the edge of the ball room, so that the glass dome was completely visible from below.  
  
Shimmering gold pillars held up the over-hanging floor above, and a gigantic crystal chandalier hung down from the center of the dome, filling it with golden light. People of all kinds stood around the dance floor, that is if they weren't dancing.  
  
As Rinoa and Selphie entered, Selphie spotted one of her good friends and ran off to greet her, leaving Rinoa to stand near a pillar, as her eyes scanned over the dance floor. While she stood there, feeling akward, the sound of a low, devious beat reached her ears, originating from the orchestra pit. That's when her eyes suddenly met with his, her warm, chocolate brown colliding with his icy, ethreal blue.  
  
The atmosphere was electric, yet fragile all the same. The slightest breath could shatter the moment which had crept upon them. The slightest offending glint in the other's eye could make the other turn away. Rinoa wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, reveling in the intensity of their gaze, but it seemed like an eternity before he slowly, cautiously began to approach her, as if he were a lion stalking his prey.  
  
Her heart was pounding in her chest, the rythm ringing in her ears in time with the music, as if her very life were dependant upon this song that was beginning to play. He came to stand before her, his eyes never leaving hers, and offered a hand to her.  
  
He didn't have to speak. Speaking would have ruined everything, and she knew it. So, without so much as a word, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor.  
  
Chills ran up her spine, and her skin tingled as he placed his hands on her narrow waist. The material of her dress was soft, and thin, so that she could feel the heat of his hands warming her delicate skin.  
  
The bitter-sweet, hypnotic melody of the violins began, entwining itself with the original beat and grazing something deep within Rinoa. She felt a tightness swell in her chest as he spun her away from him, and drew her back in. She was afraid to even breath. If she did, this glorious moment of their's might dissapear, and she would find herself alone, as she had so many times before.  
  
Her cheeks were red and flushed, as if the dance were taking a lot out of her. His hands were so gentle, yet close enough to spread their fire over her as they began to do a dance all their own, bringing their bodies closer.  
  
His breath was hot against her cheek as he swayed to an unheard rythm with her. She swallowed hard trying to supress this growing feeling inside her, and wondered if he could feel her goosebumps. He then turned her around slowly, still close to his own body, and brought her against him again, with her back to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, so that those blessed hands of his were resting over her stomach, and his head was somewhat resting against her own, his lips slightly grazing against the junction of her neck and shoulder, and his silky hair brushing against her cheek. She was falling into a euphoric trance.  
  
It seemed that just as soon as the song began, it ended, bringing Squall to a sudden awareness of his surroundings. He placed a light kiss on her exposed shoulder, then slowly began to back away from her.  
  
"I have to go," he muttered, as he headed for the door.  
  
She looked after him for a moment, still lost in a blissful daze. After a moment or so, she snapped back to reality, and started to walk after him.  
  
Rinoa finally caught up with Squall outside the mansion.  
  
"Squall, wait!" she called, running after him.  
  
He didn't stop. He knew he would only grow weaker if he did.  
  
"Please, Squall! I just want to talk to you!"  
  
When that got no response from him, she finally called out, "I know who killed your sister!"  
  
He did stop then, and waited until she was directly behind him before he turned around and said, "I know who killed my sister."  
  
She gazed up at him in confusion, but her silent question went unanswered as he turned his back on her once more.  
  
"Squall," she said in a quiet, tremulous voice.  
  
He turned back to her, and studied her for a moment before silently taking her hand and walking off with her. When they reached her apartment building, he said, "This is where you live, isn't it?"  
  
She shook her head, "Not anymore. I've been staying with my friend Selphie since the police still have to investigate my apartment. But she's not home yet..." her voice trailed off as fear began to make its way into her voice. She didn't want to be alone tonight.  
  
Somehow, he must have sensed this, because, without another word, he put an arm around her back and led her up to his apartment.  
  
"You can stay here tonight, if you want," he said.  
  
"If it's no trouble for you," she said shyly.  
  
"It's fine," he replied.  
  
He studied her for a moment, leaning against the wall outside his bedroom, and crossed the small space that was seperating the two. He wanted so badly to have something that he just couldn't have. But, no one was there to see. No one would know, if just that once....  
  
Squall's train of thoughts tailed off as he closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were so soft, so warm and inviting. He found himself wrapping his arms around her, holding her closer. She tangled her hands in his hair and ran her tongue along his bottom lip. She'd been dreaming of this since the first day she saw him.  
  
Their kissing grew more passionate as they stumbled through the door of his bed room. He couldn't control it anymore. He needed her, just like he always had. He slowly lowered her down onto the bed, and began to kiss down her neck, and over her shoulder as he ran his hand up her leg.  
  
(You can't do this) a voice hissed within his mind. That was all it took to jolt him out of his sudden frenzy.  
  
"I can't do this," he said, sitting up.  
  
"Is there something wrong with me?" she asked in a small voice. Her memories of his rejection were still alive in her mind.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with you," he said gently. "I just.... tonight's not good."  
  
"Oh. Well, I guess I better leave then."  
  
"No. You can stay here."  
  
"If I'm bothering you-"  
  
"I want you to stay," he blurted out.  
  
She smiled slightly, "Okay. I guess I will then."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head against her shoulder before the two slowly layed back down on the bed.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Rinoa had a smile on her face when she woke up in the morning. She wasn't sure what happened with him the night before, but she was happy that he let her stay. When she awoke, however, she found herself alone.  
  
She stood and looked around the unfamiliar room. It was mostly empty. It had only the bed, a dresser, and a desk. She was looking around, studying the place when she heard the shower go off. As she scanned over the desk, she noticed something glimmering against the dark wood of the desk. Upon further examination, she noticed it was a gold locket, with the name "Ellone" engraved on the front. Just like the one Ellone had worn in Rinoa's vision of her death. Had could Squall have gotten it, unless...? Come to think of it, he said he already knew who her killer was.  
  
"Rinoa?"  
  
Rinoa jumped at the sound of his voice behind her. She took a deep breath, knowing that she couldn't avoid this. She whirled around to face him, holding the chain up in her hand.  
  
"It was you wasn't it?" she asked, her voice shaking.  
  
He focused on the golden locket she held in her hand before saying, "I'm sorry that you think that."  
  
Her eyes widened in fear at this response. "What are you going to do to me?"  
  
He stepped closer to her until his face was just inches away from hers. He gazed into her eyes for a long moment before saying, "Leave this place Rinoa. Before it destroys you."  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Just go, Rinoa. Leave this town behind and never look back."  
  
She looked into his eyes for a moment, her own filled with tears, before throwing the locket back onto his desk and storming out of the room.  
  
He walked over to his window and watched for a brief moment as she left the building, still wearing that lovely red dress. As he did, a vague memory flashed through his mind. One that had haunted him many times over in his sleep.  
  
  
  
The heavy fragrance of wild flowers drifted on the warm night air, and floated on the gentle breeze. It was her fragrance. The wind was only borrowing it from her.  
  
The moon had risen high over the field in all its silver glory, casting a celestial blue glow over the sky. The stars twinkled brightly, burning with an eternal fury that no light on the earth could ever hope to duplicate.  
  
She stood in the center, an unearthly creature of unspeakable beauty, her skin glowing and eyes shining as if they were made of those very stars that dotted that canopy above her. Only that light of innocence and purity in her eyes could rival those stars.  
  
She bent down and plucked a vibrantly colored red rose from the ground. She brought it to her nose and inhaled its soft, heavenly scent, taking it in as if it was to become part of her soul.  
  
The lovely creature then turned her gaze to the glowing orb over her head, and began humming a song that only she could hear. She then began to spin around in endless circles, her dark hair cascading in waves of glimmering midnight as it reflected the beams of the moon. She twirled around, her rose still gripped tightly in her hand as she danced the dance of her soul to the rising creshendos in her mind. And when she was too dizzy to keep her footing, she felt to the ground in heap, her childish laughter ringing out over the fields, like a melody of the angels.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Rinoa stomped away from the book store in a flury. She wasn't sure if she was angry, upset, dissapointed, or what. Things were so strange between her and Squall. Did he want her? Did he have feelings for her? And on top of it all, did he really kill his sister? Was he the murderer responsible for the deaths of Lyra, Zell, and Quistis?  
  
Rinoa was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the scuffling of feet behind her. It was still so early in the morning that she didn't expect anyone to be out. But then she heard it.  
  
"Rinoa," a rough, ragged voice called from behind her.  
  
She turned to find Seifer behind her, grinning sickly. She felt as if all the blood had been drained from her body. She was going to faint.  
  
His grin widened. "Scared? Don't be. I just came to say goodbye, once and for all."  
  
It was then that she noticed the blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth, even while he smiled.  
  
"What....?" she was so shocked that she couldn't finish her sentence.  
  
"What happened? I wasn't as strong as I thought I was. Watch your back Rinoa. You might be next."  
  
With that he collapsed on the ground, revealing the large hole in his back, from which his heart had been scooped out.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&


	7. Haunting Reflections

Disclaimer: I don't own the words to "Forgotten" be Linkin Park.  
  
I'm over it  
  
You see I've fallen in my vast abyss  
  
Haunted by memories of the past  
  
At last, I say....  
  
I feel it fading, I can't speak it or else you will take my place  
  
You feel it finding, always winding, take my hand now  
  
Feel alive  
  
--- David Draimen of Disturbed "Forsaken"  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Sometimes, things aren't what they seem. People aren't what they seem. And the truth is something that cannot be reached. So how do you know when you've been deceived, or when it just appears that way? How do you find the truth, when its burried so deep within the lies that it's no longer visible? He said this town would destroy me. I'm beginning to think he's right."  
  
Rinoa sighed as she pushed the cap back onto her pen. Squall wasn't someone she wanted to think about right now, but somehow, he was always there, lurking beneath the barrier of her conciousness.  
  
About two days had passed since her last encounter with him. She hadn't been out of Selphie's apartment much since then, but when she did go out, it was as if he'd vanished from the earth. Even her dreams of him had stopped coming. The roses were no were to be found. No one had seen him, or heard from him. Not that many people cared.  
  
"You have to get over him," Selphie sighed as she stood with her hands on her hips in the door way.  
  
"Get over who?" Rinoa asked innocently.  
  
Selphie walked in and sat down on the bed beside her friend. "I noticed that the two of you dissapeared after your dance. And that you didn't come home until early the next morning. Since then, he hasn't called you, or bothered to show up. Guys are like that, Rin. It's a fact of life."  
  
Rinoa shook her head. "It's not like that. Nothing actually happened between us."  
  
"You didn't sleep together?"  
  
"We did sleep together. We just didn't have sex. We started to, and then he said it wasn't a good night. I started to leave, but he said he wanted me to stay, and we fell asleep in each other's arms."  
  
Selphie's face took on a perplexed look. "How odd. But still, you have to get over him. I bet he's married or something. He didn't want to have sex with you becasue he felt guilty. He still does, so he hasn't tried to talk to you anymore."  
  
"No, the reason he hasn't tried to talk to me anymore isn't because of that. It's because of something I said. Something I did."  
  
"Which was?"  
  
Rinoa studied her friend's face for a moment before saying, "I accused him of something horrible. I have evidence. But I'm still not sure if I was right to accuse him."  
  
"What did you accuse him of?"  
  
"I can't tell you," she replied flatly.  
  
"Oh. Well, still. Until you know for certain that he did whatever it is that you think he did, you shouldn't-"  
  
"Have you ever just saw something?" Rinoa interrupted her. "You know, like some moment in time where something atrocious happened. And you weren't even there when it happened. But you still saw it, like some kind of memory."  
  
Selphie put her hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "Rinoa, have you ever considered counseling?"  
  
Rinoa put her head in her hands. "I'm not crazy Selphie! I'm not!"  
  
"Calm down! I never said you were. It's just that sometimes people have these chemical imbalances in their mind and-"  
  
Rinoa stood up suddenly. "Stop it! Just stop! I don't have a chemical imbalance! I don't have a mental problem..." her voice trailed off and she leaned against the wall before sliding to the floor. "It's been that way all my life. I could see things that no one else could see. I would tell them, and they would laugh. I don't know why I see the things I do. I don't know why I hear the music, and peices of words. I just do. But I'm not crazy."  
  
"I'm sorry, Rinoa," Selphie said gently.  
  
Rinoa stood up again. "Don't be! I'm used to people not believing what I say. I just have to remember to keep those things to myself."  
  
Rinoa turned and started out the door, then, deciding she would go for a walk. She needed so badly to get out of that place, to get away from Selphie. She wasn't crazy! She was different.  
  
"This place will destroy me," Rinoa whispered, as she cautiously opened the closet door and grabbed her coat.  
  
Never again would she open a door without feeling the fear that someone on the other side would be dead. Never again would she look out the window without expecting to see a murder. No longer would she drift off to sleep without expecting to have nightmares of killings long since passed dancing through her head. And always, no matter where she went, she found herself looking over her shoulder.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Once again, Rinoa found herself walking along the beach. Perhaps it was the solitude that drew her there time and time again. There was no one there sneaking up on her, there was no one there to stare at her as she walked past, making her feel like the lunatic she was accused of being. It was just her, the ocean, and the soft melody in her head.  
  
She walked past the warehouse where she'd seen Kinneas the other night, hoping to find him there again. Maybe he could give her more answers, or at least prove to her that she wasn't crazy. But no one was there. Perhaps spirits weren't very reliable.  
  
Rinoa continued to drift along the shore, not thinking about where she was going. At least, not until she found herself nearing the dock where Ellone's bones had been washed ashore. At least, she was fairly certain they were Ellone's bones. Who else's could they have been?  
  
When she finally reached her destination, she discovered that the bones were gone. Not a single one of them remained. But there was one thing jutting out of the sand which caught her eye. It was just a tattered shred of the red cloth. She carefully picked it up and examined it, noticing for the first time the darkened stains and the faint scent of lingering perfume.  
  
Almost as soon as she picked it up, her mind was clouded as yet another vision overtook her. Only this time, it was all very fragmented, and blurry.  
  
  
  
He walked out of the mansion, he back rigid against the frantic calls behind him. From a distance, he looked well composed but the look on his face betrayed his calm air. Strands of dark hair fell over tear filled eyes as he swollowed the lump in his throat and continued walking.  
  
"Wait!" a distraught voice called behind him. "Please! It's not fair of you to just walk away from me like this!"  
  
He turned around suddenly, his resistance broken. "Of course it's not fair!" he shouted back at the dark haired woman that followed him. "Nothing is ever fair is it?"  
  
She walked up to him until her face was just inches from his. "I can't stop you from leaving me. If that's what you really want, then I won't stop you. I want you to be happy, whether it's with me or not. But you owe me an explanation. Yoiu can't just walk away like this."  
  
He ran a hand over her cheek before saying, "You and I are not the same. You... you deserve so much better."  
  
"No one could ever be better to me than you!" she cried.  
  
"We can never be together again. I'm sorry. You and I are too different. One day, you'll see what I mean. I'll always love you. But I have to go now. And I can never look back."  
  
That was exactly what he did. He turned and left her there, frozen in place by a mixture of awe and sadness. Until she felt the sharp pain in her stomach and shoulder. She tried to scream for him, but she was never heard.  
  
Her warm blood spilled out from her severed flesh, staining her crimson dress, even while it was torn apart by the same needle-like sharpness that tore into her skin so ruthlessly. in. Her vision slowly began to fade and pulse, as off in the distance, the ever-present harmony was suddenly disrrupted by the sound of the very heavens themselves screaming.  
  
  
  
Rinoa was shaking violently as she dropped the cloth back into the sand. She couldn't see clearly who it was in that vision, but she assumed that it was once again some one from the past.  
  
(I can't go home, tonight) she thought as the sun began to set. (I can't face Selphie. I can't face the fear. Just for tonight, I need an escape.)  
  
With that decision present in her mind, she decided to keep walking along the beach, in hopes of finding a hotel, or even an abandoned house to stay in.  
  
When she had finally come to a spot on the shore where the beach was too rocky to cross, she happened to look up and see a small cluster of buildings up on a cliff above. Luckily for her, there was a path leading up the cliff to the top, which she followed eagerly.  
  
She found herself at the edge of a forest after finally reaching the top. As she gazed through the trees, she spotted a small, abandoned- looking, white-washed church with a graveyard off to the side of it. And, sitting there in front of an isolated grave that was set a good distance away from the others, was none other than Squall Leonhart.  
  
For a moment she wondered if she should go over and say something to him, but quickly thought better of it. They hadn't exactly left off on good terms, and he probably wanted to be alone at the moment anyway.  
  
Instead, she settled for observing him for a moment. He was kneeling in front of the grave staring at it with a strange look in his eyes. Every now and then, he would raise his eyes to the empty air above the tombstone and say something, or so it seemed.  
  
Finally, Rinoa decided to sneak over to the motel she saw off in the distance. It looked run-down, and mostly empty, but at least it wasn't in Balamb.  
  
After checking into a room, which was a lot nicer than she had expected, she immediately flopped down on the bed and began drifting off to sleep. But she soon found that she could not escape the dreams, no matter how hard she tried.  
  
She dreamed of places and people she had never before seen, and of doing things she knew she had never done. Things that she refused to believe she had done.  
  
"I didn't kill her!" she screamed, waking herself up.  
  
She sat straight up in bed, her bare skin soaked in cold sweat and tears. Her heart was pounding widly in her chest, and her breathing was shaking.  
  
(I need a shower) she thought to herself, standing from the bed and stumbling through the darkness to the bathroom.  
  
As she allowed the steaming hot water to cleanse her of the torment and pain, she found herself humming a rather familiar tune, which she eventually began to sing.  
  
"Why won't you die? Your blood and mine. We'll be fine. Then your body will be mine."  
  
Her temporary state of relaxation was brought to an abrupt halt when she realized that the song she was singing was the same one that had haunted her visions and dreams. She quickly shut off the water, stepped out of the tub, wrapped herself in an over-sized towel, and ran to the mirror. After wiping away the fog so that she could see herself better, she suddenly broke down into tears.  
  
(I'm not a killer! I'm not insane! God, I don't know what I am anymore. I don't know anything, I can't control anything! Won't this ever end?! Why can't I just be normal, like everyone else?)  
  
She wiped furiously at the tears that streaked her face, then glared into the mirror.  
  
"Why won't you leave me alone?!" she screamed at her reflection before ramming her fist into it.  
  
The glass shattered beneath the force, and sliced into her sensitive skin. She fell back against the bathroom door while she clutched her injured hand. She brought it to her mouth and tried to sooth the pain while she sobbed to herself.  
  
Her painful reverie was broken when she heard a knock at her door. She stood weakly from her spot on the cold tile floor and wiped at her eyes before answering the door. She had been so caught up in her tantrum that she hadn't noticed the horrible thunderstorm that was raging outside.  
  
When she opened the door, still clad only in her blank white beach towel, she was met with the sight of Squall, his clothes clinging to his skin from the heavy water that soaked the material. Grayish puffs of air escaped his lips and she noticed he was shivering slightly.  
  
"S-Squall?" was all she could manage to get out.  
  
"You going to let me in, or shall I just stand here freezing to death?"  
  
She stood back and allowed him to enter, the look of astonishment still gracing her features.  
  
"W-what are you doing here?" she stammered.  
  
"No where else to go. I saw you coming here while I was visiting with my sister. It started raining and I knew I wouldn't make it back to Balamb."  
  
"Oh," she replied. "About that.... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you like that. You probably don't understand why I accused you in the first place, but-"  
  
"She was wearing this necklace when she died out at sea and suddenly it shows up on my desk," he said. "I understand."  
  
"How...?"  
  
"How do I know? I know a lot of things, Rinoa. But let's not discuss them right now, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, okay," she agreed. "Let's put all that behind us, and try to be friends."  
  
"Friends, huh?"  
  
She cocked her head to the side. "You don't want to be?"  
  
(No) he thought to himself. (I want so much more from you. So much more that I'll never be able to have.)  
  
"I do. I'm just not used to having friends."  
  
"Well, now that things are settled between us, let's get you out of those wet clothes. You'll catch pneumonia."  
  
For the first time since he'd entered the room, he noticed the cuts all over her hands and the way her eyes were swollen and puffy.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked, nodding to her hand.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little accident," she replied then grabbed the bottom of his shirt before pulling it up. "This needs to come off," she said in a soft voice.  
  
She pulled it over his head and tossed it to the floor, revealing the firm, very well defined muscles of his chest and exposing them to her wandering eyes. Suddenly, the air was thick, and the moment was fragil again, just as it had been at the dance. He was so close to her. She could feel his sweet, warm breath on her face, and his exposed flesh was only a few inches from her, begging to be touched. She brought a hand up, slowly, and placed it over his heartbeat, which thundered beneath his rib cage. His eyes fluttered closed and his breathing was rough. Just her slightest touch set his skin on fire. He'd been waiting to long to feel this. For him, it was the ultimate bliss, just for her to be touching him. Just for her to be so close to him. Forbidden fire. He lowered his head until his lips were almost touching hers before quickly forcing himself to jerk away.  
  
"Friends.... friends don't do this," he said in a low, tortured voice.  
  
"I guess not," she replied, unable to mask the dissapointment that was so evident in her tone.  
  
"I need to go take a shower," he said, walking away from her.  
  
(A very cold one) he added silently.  
  
She nodded. "Right. I guess I'll just see if I can't get some sleep."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
The next morning, the two said their reluctant goodbyes, and headed their seperate ways. Squall wanted to go back to Balamb, but Rinoa wasn't quite ready for that yet. Much to her surprise, he didn't question her decision, but just told her to come back when she felt ready. It amazed her sometimes how well he seemed to understand her without so much as a word from her.  
  
Rinoa decided she would go and explore the forest that she had encountered the previous day. Perhaps there would be something interesting some where beyond it.  
  
After less than an hour's walk through the thin set of trees that barely passed for a forest, she found herself on the other side of it. There, she found the remains of a bridge that, at one time, had spanned a great distance over a river, which had now dried up.  
  
Feeling adventerous, she climbed down the dry, rocky banks and into the hollowed out space where the river had once raged. She crossed the distance then climbed up the banks to the other side, where she was met with a small clump of trees. On the other side of this, she found herself in the middle of a vast field flowers. As she passed throught it, childish laughter and voices rang through her head, telling her of a time long forgotten. When she finally had reached the end of this peaceful location, she found herself standing in the middle of a small, destroyed town.  
  
It was obvious that the town had existed a long time ago, judging from the style of the buildings, and the condition of the remains. It seemed that the place had been in that destroyed and abandoned state for a long while, and had been completely forgotten about.  
  
As she stood there, her mind buzzing from this discovery, more visions began to flash through her mind. Visions of her, as a child, standing in the kitchen of a small house next to a smiling, happy woman with dark brown hair. She sat on a stool as she watched mother working at the stove and listened delightedly while the woman sang a beautiful song.  
  
"In the memory you'll find me. Eyes burning up. The darkness holding me tightly. Until the sun rises up."  
  
Then the scene changed, so that she, still as a young child, stood in front of a huge stone building. Children ran around everywhere, laughing and playing with each other. All but one.  
  
"Hi, I'm Rinoa. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm...."  
  
The vision was gone before she could hear the rest of the answer. She saw that she was, once again, standing in the middle of oblivion. But directly ahead of her, she noticed what must have been the remains of the large house she had been playing around.  
  
She walked closer to it and was inspecting it when she noticed a sign sticking up out of the rubble. It read "Edea Kramer's Orphanage of Timber."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 


	8. Fangs

WARNING: Lemon content at the end.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own "System" by Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, or "Slept so Long" by Jay Gordon of Orgy, all off the Queen of the Damned CD.  
  
  
  
I do believe that you and me  
  
We could be so  
  
Happy and free inside a world of misery  
  
And I believe that you and me  
  
We could be so  
  
Inside of you, inside of me  
  
'Cause this could be the one  
  
--- Limp Bizket "The One"  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"I'm Squall," the little boy replied.  
  
"Why aren't you playing with the other kids, Squall?" she asked, smiling slightly.  
  
He shrugged. "I don't like them."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"They make fun of me for being the new kid in town, and for not having any parents," he answered.  
  
"I won't make fun of you. I promise."  
  
He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at her, "Leave me alone!"  
  
Instead of running away, as he expected she'd do, she sat down beside him against the cold stone wall, and said, "I won't! I'm going to sit here beside you until you play with me!"  
  
He didn't say anything, thinking she would get annoyed with him and walk away to join the other children. But she didn't go anywhere. She sat there with him in silence, watching the busy towns people as they passed, giving the two children strange looks. After a while, she fell asleep with her head resting on his shoulder, and somehow he didn't mind. He was just starting to fall asleep himself, when he felt small drops of rain splatter against his face. He gently shook her awake and said, "It's starting to rain. Let's go inside, and we can find something to do."  
  
She smiled at him again, "So, you'll play with me now?"  
  
He shrugged. "I guess so. You're kinda nice."  
  
  
  
Squall took in a sharp breath as he suddenly found himself in the present, again. He wasn't sure where the vision had come from, or why. One moment, he had been sitting at his computer doing some work, and the next moment, he was seeing himself in a scene from the past that he never remembered happening.  
  
He heaved a sigh as he stared back at the file he had been reading, the words, "Investigation for murder on fifteen counts," catching his eyes.  
  
"Rinoa..." he murmered.  
  
||||||||||||||||||||||||| |  
  
Rinoa stared at the fallen sign for a moment before beginning to rumage through the rest of the wreckage. There wasn't anything there that was savagable. It had been in that ruined state for such a long time.  
  
As she stood there, looking upon the destrution, she felt a chill run up her spine, and vaguely heard the words, carried on the light breeze as they whispered, "Find me, Rinoa. I'm waiting."  
  
She searched the area desperately, looking for someone, or something, that might have spoken those words to her. There was nothing there, but the empty feeling that was left in the wake of fear and shock. Rinoa decided she should leave, for her intuition was telling her that something was after her, and was dangerously close.  
  
Rinoa decided to head back to Balamb. She was still reluctant to face Selphie, but she knew she would have to eventually. Selphie was her best friend, after all.  
  
When Rinoa arrived at the door of Selphie's apartment, after a long journey to Balamb, she shyly raised her hand to the door and knocked lightly, as if she was afraid to be heard. The door suddenly flew open to reveal a red-eyed, tired-looking Selphie, dressed in a white cotton robe and wearing pink bunny slippers. Her pockets were over-flowing with balled up tissues, and when she finally spoke, her words were broken up in intervals by sniffles.  
  
"Hey, Rinoa!" she said, her voice a nasal whine. "I'm glad to see you're home. You worried me to death when you didn't come back last night. Thankfully, Squall told me where you were, so I didn't have to worry anymore. Now, come in."  
  
"What have you come down with?" Rinoa asked as she stepped inside.  
  
"Come down with? What are you talking about? I'm fine," Selphie replied.  
  
"Yeah, right," Rinoa laughed. "Is it contagious?"  
  
"Maybe. Look, about last night, I'm really sorry. I should've just listened to what you had to say, instead calling you crazy and everything. Friends are supposed to listen and be supportive. That's the opposite of what I did."  
  
"You were just trying to help, Selphie," Rinoa replied gently. "It's alright."  
  
"If you say so," Selphie said. "So, what happened with you and Squall last night?"  
  
"Nothing. We just agreed to be friends."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"Yes, you pervert!" Rinoa laughed. "Hey, Selphie, have you ever heard of a town called Timber?"  
  
"Yeah, it existed a long time ago, even before Balamb was founded. It was just a little town a short ways from here. It had a big orphanage run by this one woman. That was really the only appeal of that place, to outside people. Anyway, it was attacked and destroyed at some point. Most of the towns people were killed, and those that weren't were forced to move here to Balamb and rebuild their lives. It was really a sad story."  
  
"Who attacked it?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"I don't know. It's always remained a mystery, even to the historians. It happened one night, out of the blue. No one was expecting it, though they say it was probably planned weeks, if not months earlier. No one here in Balamb knew what was going on. They just knew that there was a horrible black cloud rising into the sky from Timber's direction. When the sun rose in the morning, the buildings were torn apart, or burned down, everything was broken down and ruined. But worst of all, there were bodies littering the ground everywhere, and all of them with the same wounds. They were disembowled, their neck and shoulders were torn apart, and their chest was ripped open down the center. It took days to clear them out and take care of the survivors. But strangely enough, some of those people were never accounted for. It was assumed that they were burned in the fires," Selphie said, repeating the facts she had read in her history book as a child.  
  
"That sounds horrible," Rinoa said, thinking back to the ruin she had witnessed earlier. "Have you ever heard of Edea Kramer?"  
  
"Yeah, she used to work for the goverment, or something. She's retired, now, in some condo by the ocean."  
  
"Really?" Rinoa asked, thinking it was rather strange. "Does she except visitors?"  
  
"I think so. She's really nice, from what I've heard."  
  
"Hmm. Is there any place I can find more about Timber?"  
  
"Probably at the library. Why are you suddenly so interested in this place anyway?"  
  
"Because something just doesn't add up."  
  
||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||  
  
Rinoa quickly left Selphie's apartment to find the library, which was on the other side of town. It was located in a large brick building with white shutters and doors. On the inside, was a long corridor with black and white tile flooring that led from the front of the building all the way to the back. Worn wooden doors led to various rooms, and wide, thick glass windows sat in the walls revealing the contents of those rooms. In one, a small, gray-haired woman ran a scanner over racks of vidoes, and in another, a woman in a red business suit pointed to a projection screen while talking to a group of teenagers. She passed by one room, near the end of the hall, where a group of kids played in brightly-colored, plastic play houses. One of the children, a little girl in a white dress, immediatley looked up when Rinoa walked past, and ran out the door of the room to intercept her.  
  
"Excuse me, miss!" she called in a small, cheerful voice.  
  
Rinoa smiled at her and bent down to get a better look at her. "Yes, sweetie?"  
  
The little girl smiled up at her through dozens of sany brown curls before throwing herself into Rinoa's arms. She slipped something over Rinoa's neck and whispered, "It will protect you," into her ear.  
  
As the little girl started to walk away, Rinoa pulled at the platinum chain that now appeared around her neck and pulled it out from underneath her shirt, where something on the chain had fallen. It was a platinum circular locket with strange writing on it. She fumbled for a moment with the clasp on the locket, but it refused to open.  
  
The little girl turned around. "Keep it hidden, under your shirt. That way, you'll be safe."  
  
She turned and ran off again, back for the room which she had come from. It was then that Rinoa noticed the outline of white wings on the back of her dress.  
  
Rinoa tucked the necklace away, again, feeling that it held a great signifigance, even if the way in which she recieved it was strange. She glanced back in the window, searching for the little girl, but she was no where to be seen.  
  
Deciding that there was nothing she could do to further investigate this strange occurance, she started down the hall again. She soon found a room filled with cases and cases of books. She slowly opened the door, the place seemingly empty, and stepped in. Her foot steps echoed off the scratched and dirt-stained floor as she swerved around unocuppied tables and desks and began walking through the rows of towering wooden cases.  
  
"Hello? May I help you?" came a voice from behind her.  
  
She turned to see an old man with graying brown hair and small glasses balanced on his nose standing behind her. "I'm the librarian. How may I help you?"  
  
"I was looking for some books about the history of Timber," she answered.  
  
"Well, I believe we have some right over here," he mumbled, digging some books off the shelf. He handed her a small stack of books then said, "Here we are. Now, if you need anything else, find me and tell me."  
  
She nodded before finding a table to sit down at and glancing at the book on the top of the stack. It looked like she had her research cut out for her.  
  
After a few hourse of intense reading, she discovered something that startled her. It was a list of people that were never accounted for after the destruction of the town of Timber. There were several people on this list, of course, but five in particular that caught her eye. It was none other than Ellone Loire, Squall Loire, Seifer Almasy, Selphie Tilmitt, and Rinoa Caraway.  
  
She knew well that it couldn't been what it looked like. After all, the last names were wrong on most of them. But still, seeing that combination of names in a list of names that was still shrouded in mystery, was odd. And not only did the names on this list catch her eye, but also the mention of a ball that took place at the same night in Balamb. For a few weeks after, it was said, a ficticious story about a girl who was murdered by some monstrous creature that fell from the sky, floated around the town, scaring the townspeople, who wondered if their town would soon meet the same fate as Timber.  
  
Upstairs, several floors above the library where Rinoa was studying, the mayor of the town sat in a darkned room, smoking a cigar and glaring into the shadows where his visitor sat.  
  
"You took care of Almasy?" he asked.  
  
"Of course," the visitor replied. "I said I would."  
  
"Then what's left for you to do? How much longer until we can take our town back?"  
  
"All I have to do is get rid of the girl. Just like before. It shouldn't be a problem."  
  
"I hope so," he said. "We allowed you to do this because you said you could do this better than Seifer. If not...."  
  
"I'll get it done!" came the venomous reply. "Seifer has nothing on me!"  
  
||||||||||||||||||||||||| |  
  
Finally, after Rinoa'd had enough of reading about the atrocity of Timber's destruction, she returned to Selphie's apartment, where she found Selphie crumpled up in the bathroom in front of the toilet.  
  
"Selphie, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern.  
  
"I'm really sick, Rinoa," Selphie answered. "I think I've got the stomich flu or something. You shouldn't stay here."  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Guess I'll be staying at that hotel again."  
  
Selphie looked up at her and offered a weak smile. "Why don't you go ask Squall if you can stay with him?"  
  
Rinoa was about to laugh and shake her head, but said, "Okay. I will."  
  
She left Selphie alone then, telling her to get plenty of rest, and walked to Squall's apartment. Selphie looked out the window, grinning, and decided to go take care of the task at hand.  
  
After Squall had told her that it was fine if she stayed there with him, Rinoa decided she would go talk to this Edea woman that Selphie had told her about.  
  
By this time, night had just fallen. Rinoa didn't like the idea of going to the ocean at night, alone, but she wasn't about to have Squall go with her. How weak would that look? Instead, she found the cliff on which Edea's condo was perched, and started heading for the door.  
  
  
  
Edea sat in her richly decorated living room sipping a cup of tea as she read over the news paper. A warm, salty breeze blew in through the open sliding glass door that led out to her balcony. Her wind chimes, wich she valued greatly since they were family heirlooms, clanged together erratcially with the wind, flowing into the house and making her smile with their gentle, spontaneous ringing.  
  
As she sat in her favorite chair, pouring over an article about the recent murders in the town, her long black hair whipped around her face, making her smile. She stopped then, taking in the moment of peace. With age, came a greater appreciation for such moments, when all seemed right in the world.  
  
She focused on everything around her, as if in meditation. Had it not been for this instant of brief meditation, she might not have noticed the way the windchimes seem to take on a perticular tune, as if it were an instrument for the new wind that began to send chills up her spine. She listened for a moment to the simple, but huanting melody before standing and walking out to the balcony to investigate.  
  
Edea walked all the way out onto the balcony, having found nothing out of the ordinary. But as she listened, she realized someone was huming the same tune behind her. She turned around, nearly having a heart attack at what she saw.  
  
"Why won't you die? Your blood and mine? We'll be fine. Then your body, will be mine," sang the voice, softly.  
  
"Who are you?!" Edea demanded.  
  
"What, you don't recognize me?"  
  
Suddenly, Edea was lifted from the floor and thrown back into her living room with an inhuman strength.  
  
"All the trouble you caused me when I was young. And now you want to ruin what I have in the making, don't you? You would give her the answers she seeks."  
  
"Who?" Edea asked, crumpled in a ball on the floor.  
  
"You made everything so hard! This is your end."  
  
Edea screamed loudly, as she the pain shot through her body, slowly killing her. There was nothing she could do.  
  
Even through the screaming, her attacker's voice sang the song that was always present in their mind. "Why is everything so fucking hard for me? Keep me down to what you think I should be. Must you tempt me and provoke the minisrty? Keep on trying I'm not dying so easily. Why won't you die? Your blood and mine. We'll be fine. Then your body will be mine."  
  
Finally, a pair of cold, dark eyes looked down on Edea and said, "This will be a message to her, when she comes."  
  
Outside, Rinoa knocked on the door, only to be greeted by a low, dying sob from inside. She knocked again, this time more frantically. The door fell open, revealing a sickening sight to Rinoa's eyes.  
  
Blood smeared the walls, and dripped off the ceiling, surrounding the woman in black who lay on the floor, mostly dead. Rinoa was about to run from the house, when she noticed there were words scribbled on the wall, in blood.  
  
"I will not die."  
  
Rinoa didn't know what to make of this message. Nor did she care at the moment. She just wanted to run. So she did, just as her instincts told her.  
  
When she reached Balamb again, she slowed down and walked to Squall's apartment where she would be staying for the evening. Maybe if Rinoa had not been so used to seeing such horror, she would have been able to cry or scream, but instead, she was becoming numb to those feelings. Still, even if she seemed calm for what she had just seen, the look on her face immediately told Squall that something was wrong.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, watching her as she sat down on his couch.  
  
"Can I tell you something?" she asked after a moment.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," he responded uncomfortably as he sat down beside her.  
  
"Have you ever had something awful happen to you, and it seemed that, no matter how hard you tried to escape it, it just kept happening over and over again. Until you couldn't take it anymore?"  
  
"What happened to you?" he asked, almost holding his breath as he waited for her answer.  
  
She paused, afraid to say what she needed to say. She had been ordered against it. But she had to let it out, before it ate her alive. "Everywhere I go, there's someone out there murdering people. My ex- boyfriend was a murderer. I came here to get away from all that, and now there's someone here, killing again. And I always seem to find it. I get caught in the middle."  
  
He studied her face for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Rinoa.... I think there's something I have to tell you."  
  
"....What?"  
  
"The FBI thinks that you might be the murderer. They've suspected you since the case with Seifer back in Deling City. But now that all this has happened here.... they're almost ready to arrest you."  
  
"How do you know this?" she asked, fear and shock dominating her voice.  
  
He didn't say anything for a moment, and looked away from her, unable to meet her gaze. "I was sent here on an under-cover mission to investigate you. The whole book store owner thing was just a cover-up."  
  
She stood up suddenly and glared down at him. "Oh, I see now. I see what all this was about. It's fine. I should have expected it, anyway."  
  
She started to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist. "Look, I wasn't supposed to tell you this. But I did because I wanted to warn you. I know you're not the one doing this."  
  
"Then why can't you tell them that?!" she exclaimed, tearing her wrist out of his grasp.  
  
"I just can't," he replied. "They're watching you closely. You have to be careful."  
  
"Whatever," she muttered. "Look, I just want to sleep, okay."  
  
He nodded. "Fine. You can take my room."  
  
||||||||||||||||||||||||| |  
  
It was past midnight, and Squall was staring at his computer screen, as he often did when he couldn't sleep. The unnatural glow of the moniter screamed back at him as he faced it, taunting him with it's brightness, that contrasted violently with the darkness surounding him.  
  
  
  
The watching, the waiting  
  
Alone without a care  
  
  
  
His eye lids were getting heavier by the moment, and they were almost closed when he heard someone enter the room. He looked up to see Rinoa, wearing only an over-sized white T-shirt, standing in front of him.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," she explained quietly. "I was having bad dreams."  
  
"What do you want me to do about it?" he asked harshly, looking away from her, so as not to be tempted by her current state.  
  
She shook her head. "Nothing! Never mind."  
  
  
  
Hoping, and hating  
  
The things that I can't bare  
  
  
  
Rinoa started to walk away, but he stood up quickly and grabbed her around the wrist, and pulled her around to face him, a faint look of desperation in his eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "Things have just been messed up lately."  
  
  
  
Did you think it's cool to walk right up, to take my life and fuck it up  
  
Well did you?  
  
  
  
Once again, he was so aware of her closeness to him, that he could barely think of anything else. That look shining in her eyes was more than he could take. She looked so innocent, and angelic. And at that moment he hated her so much that he loved her. She was the reason for his torment, his pain. She was everything he wanted, and all that he couldn't have. She sat there, tempting him into damnation without even knowing what she was doing to him. She was a devil, in his eyes. And he wanted nothing more than to surrender to her. Nothing else mattered anymore.  
  
  
  
I see hell in your eyes  
  
  
  
After a moment of looking into each others eyes, they came together in an explosion of long-surpressed passion, kissing roughly, and touching. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her out of the room, stumbling backward to his bedroom, and slamming the door shut behind him.  
  
  
  
Taken in by surprise  
  
  
  
Rinoa wasn't sure what was happening anymore. She wasn't even sure why she'd gone to Squall in the first place. Now, all of a sudden, they were in his room, fire blazing between them. She didn't care how it happened. This was what she had wanted all along, right? She wanted him.  
  
She melted into him as she felt his hands travel up, underneath the shirt she was wearing to sleep in, and gently graze the bare skin of her upper body.  
  
Squall wasn't sure what he was doing anymore either. He just wanted her. No, needed her. Fuck everyone else. She was so amazing to him, even if she was his enemy by nature. He felt like his soul was soaring, just touching her like this.  
  
  
  
And touching you makes me feel alive  
  
  
  
Rinoa tugged at his shirt from the bottom, before slipping her hands inside it and running them over his finely toned chest, carefully scraping her nails over his skin. She broke their hot, passionate kiss and began kissing down his chin and neck.  
  
As she did this, tormenting him yet again, Squall leaned his head somewhat against hers, letting his eyes drift closed at the feeling. The fire was burning inside him again, causing his excitement to rise, and scarring the edges of his soul. He could feel his instincts conflicting, eating at him from the inside.  
  
  
  
Touching you makes me die inside  
  
  
  
Rinoa pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the floor, her eyes flamming with both longing and innocence as they looked up into his own.  
  
"Do you hate me?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"Why would I?"  
  
"For everything I've done to you."  
  
"I should," she said thoughtfully. "But for whatever reason, I can't bring myself to."  
  
He nodded his understanding then lifted her up into his arms before laying her down on the bed. He showered her neck with kisses before pulling the shirt off over her head and revealing her ivory flesh to his hungry eyes. He bent his head down, taking one of her breasts into his mouth and driving her crazy. The taste of her skin was intoxicating, and he knew he'd tasted it somewhere before.  
  
She ran his fingers through his silky brown hair, while a new, exotic feeling built within her. She never knew it was possible to feel this way, yet somehow, she knew she'd felt it before.  
  
  
  
I've slept so long without you  
  
It's tearing me apart to  
  
How'd it get this far, playing games with this old heart  
  
I've killed a million petty selves, but I couldn't kill you  
  
I've slept so long without you  
  
  
  
He slid the last of her clothing down her legs, placing soft kisses down them as he went. He them removed his remaining constraints. He couldn't wait any longer.  
  
As he plunged into her depth, he felt something within her break, and she let out a small scream. he found her hands and entwined his fingers with hers, before pushing forward again. This time she let out a gasp, and her eyes rolled back in her head. He looked down at her with concern, fearing that he had done something to hurt her. He was about to call her name, when his vision was engulfed in a grayish color, and memories began to flash through his mind.  
  
***  
  
She stood in the flower field, the moon light shining above her as she smiled.... A little boy with dark brown hair sat alone in front of a large stone building, until a little raven-haired girl walked up to him.... Two children stood sat beneath a tree late at night, hiding away from the rest of the world and talking.  
  
"Sis and her boy friend Seifer say we shouldn't play together," admitted the dark-haired boy with sorrow deep in his voice. "They say you and I are different."  
  
"But, Squall, I don't want to stop playing with you. You're my best friend," replied the girl that sat beside him.  
  
"You're mine, too. I guess we can still meet, just like this. That way we can still be friends, and they'll never know."  
  
The scene changed, and two pre-teens stood near the entrance of a town, speaking.  
  
"I'm sorry about your mother. I know how much she meant to you."  
  
"Yeah. It wouldn't be so bad if my dad wasn't such a jerk about everything! I hate him! I wish there was some way I could escape it all."  
  
"I know what you mean. My sister's being a bitch, as always. And I hate Seifer. I wish I were old enough to beat him up."  
  
"Why don't we run away, Squall? You and me together. We could escape from home, and we'd still have each other."  
  
He nodded in agreement. "Okay. Tomorrow night. I'll meet you here. But where will we go?"  
  
"I have a place in mind."  
  
Now the two pre-teens stood in front of a white-washed church.  
  
"We can stay here," she said.  
  
"Okay," he agreed uneasily.  
  
The two went inside and set down their stuff before going back outside to look at the stars. Once they were outside, they sat down in the grass and gazed upwards in silence until at last, she spoke.  
  
"Squall, have you ever... you know... kissed a girl?"  
  
"No," he answered absent mindedly.  
  
"Do you want to?" she asked shyly.  
  
A deep crimson blush spread over his cheeks as he looked at her and said, "...Yes."  
  
Yet again, the scene shifted, and a couple, just barely adults, danced across a floor in a grandly decorated room, before the man stopped and said, "I'm sorry, Rinoa. But I... we can't be together anymore."  
  
With that, he walked away from her, and out of the ball room. She followed after him, desperately calling out his name. They exchanged harsh words before he left again, and this time, she let him go.  
  
As she stood there, awe struck, a creature looked down on her from above, it's leathery, bat-like wings poised for flight. It swooped down behind, soundlessly, and sealed her tragic fate.  
  
***  
  
Squall opened his eyes to find himself back in the present, and still tending to the task at hand. His body had started to move on it's own, and a wonderful feeling was building inside of him. Rinoa lay beneath him, her eyes shut tightly in pleasure as she opened her mouth in a silent moan.  
  
Moonlight fell in through the slits in the windows, giving her skin an unearthly glow as Squall watched. Or was it really the moon?  
  
Her eyes opened just a crack, so that the whites of them were visible. They were glowing a brilliant white that the moon would be envious of. He realized then that everything he'd been told was true. Now, it was just a question of whether or not he cared.  
  
  
  
I see hell in your eyes  
  
  
  
He lowered his mouth to hers, hoping to distract her. She couldn't see. If she did, he might lose her forever. Her eyes drifted shut again as she emitted another blissful cry, which was muffled by his passionate kiss. He ran his hands up her sides, and then ran his fingers through her hair. He opened his eyes a crack just in time to see an alluring white glow spreading from her back.  
  
  
  
Taken in by surprise  
  
  
  
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, practically smashing her body up against his so that she was no longer on her back. He ran a hand up over her stomach to her breast, squeezing it in order to distract her from the itching that he knew she would be feeling at her shoulder blades soon.  
  
  
  
And touching you makes me feel alive  
  
  
  
Rinoa's fist clutched at the sheets on the bed as she threw her head back, the feeling starting to take her over. Squall broke his kiss with her, feeling something start to swell in his mouth. He rested his head on her shoulder a bit as he watched, with heaviness filling his heart, the white, glowing wings burst, unnoticed by their owner, from her back and spread to their full width behind her.  
  
Squall didn't have to look behind him to know that his own, black and leathery, were stretched out behind him. He was thankful that her eyes were closed. She would never have to know.  
  
She wrapped her legs around his waist as she screamed, her eyes still shut, and her fists still clenched. Seeing her go like this brought him crashing over the edge. He arched his back, his black demon wings flared, and tensed as his mouth opened wide in a silent roar, his newly grown fangs glittering in the faint light.  
  
  
  
Touching you makes me die inside  
  
  
  
||||||||||||||||||||||||| 


	9. Redemption

I lost my soul when I fell to earth  
  
My planet's called me to the void of my birth  
  
The time has come for me to kill this game  
  
So open wide and say my name  
  
--- Rob Zombie "Space Lord"  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Squall lay there, somewhat in a daze at everything that had happened. Rinoa lay asleep on his chest, her body and his having gone back to normal after a few moments, thankfully. She looked so peaceful in her slumber, that he could only smile as he watched her, despite the troubles that these growing feelings he had for her had wrought on him. Now he had a desicion to make. Would he make this the last time he ever saw her, and spare the pain that it would eventually bring them both? Should he try to explain to her why they could never be?  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her shift slightly against him. His mind drifted back to her, and the sensations he had felt the night before. It was more incredible then anything he'd ever felt before, and it had been so much more than just physical. It was like she was setting his soul free.  
  
".... Squall?" a small, tired voice reached his ears.  
  
He looked down, to see her warm, gentle smile. She carefully reached up, then, and carresed his face. "So, I'm not dreaming this time."  
  
"No," he replied, unsure of what else to say.  
  
She yawned briefly before asking, "What happened last night?"  
  
His face darkened with a frown. "You don't remember?"  
  
She laughed, somewhat embarresed. "Yes, I remember THAT very well. I.... did you see it, too?"  
  
"See what?"  
  
"The visions."  
  
He knew what she was talking about, then. "Yeah. I did."  
  
"What were they?"  
  
He shook his head. "I really don't know."  
  
She sat up slowly, and stretched. Squall couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched her. She was so beautiful, and innocent. Everything he wasn't, and could never be. Everything he was supposed to despise.  
  
Rinoa stood from the bed and smiled down at Squall. "I don't know about you, but I need a shower."  
  
"Go ahead," he told her, pointing to the bathroom. "I've got some things I need to take care of."  
  
She nodded, somewhat dissapointed, and gathered up the only clothes she had. Once she had dissapeared into the bathroom, he stood, dressed, and walked into the living room. He sank down on the couch and covered his face in his hands as his mind buzzed in thought. He was interrupted when the phone suddenly rang.  
  
He snatched it off the hook, in no mood to talk, and said, "Whoever the hell this is, you better have a good fuckin' excuse for calling!"  
  
"You think I don't know what you did last night?" a voice hissed from the other end of the line.  
  
He let out a heavy sigh. "So what if you do?"  
  
"You know what this means! You're putting the mission in danger!"  
  
"You think I care?" he grumbled.  
  
"You can never be with her. You know that! You have to follow through with your part. If you don't, my plan will fail, and we'll all die! Including me."  
  
He didn't say anything for a long moment. When he did speak, he said, "When I was with her, I saw things that I never remember happening. Why?"  
  
"I don't know! She was probably playing some kind of trick on you. I'm sure she knows by now."  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"She's one of them. She hates our kind. It was the way she was born. I'm not saying this to hurt you, I promise. I just don't want you to get hurt. You're playing with fire, Squall. So do both of us a favor and end it now. Take her out before she causes anymore damage."  
  
He heard the phone click, and then the dial tone buzzed loudly in his ear. He put the phone down, the words echoing in his head. It was true, he knew it. He had no other choice than to comply with what was requested from him.  
  
At that moment, Rinoa walked back into the room, dripping wet, her clothes clinging to her skin. Damn! He wanted her again.  
  
Upon seeing his look of pain and anger, she cocked her head to the side and asked him, in her sweetest voice, "What's wrong?"  
  
He let loose another heavy sigh. He couldn't murder her, as he had been asked to do. No, he would have to warn her, and let her go. If his unnamed ally wanted her dead, they would have to take care of it themself.  
  
"Sit down," he said, indicating to the empty space on the couch beside him.  
  
She obeyed, despite the sinking feeling in her stomach. For a moment, the room echoed with an eerie silence, but it was soon penetrated by Squall's deep, smooth voice.  
  
"Rinoa.... I don't know how to say this.... it's hard...." he took a deep breath and tried to calm his raging thoughts, and sort out his words. "You have to leave here. Now."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"I.... I can't tell you. You just have to leave."  
  
She studied him for a moment, then said, "You're married, aren't you?"  
  
He laughed bitterly. "No, I'm not. I just... I don't know what all this has meant to you, but-"  
  
"It hasn't meant a thing to you," she interrupted coldly. "I took it to be something that it's obviously not."  
  
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a lump start to rise in his throat. Why was this so hard? It didn't matter. He had to end this before it went too far.  
  
(As if it hasn't already) he thought.  
  
"Yes," he replied at last. "I'm afraid that's the truth. I was using you this entire time. I'm sorry."  
  
She stood from the couch and glared down at him, rage and pain exploding in her tear-filled eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to keep those tears at bay, then slapped him as hard as she could across the face before storming out of his apartment. Squall closed his eyes as he heard the door slam.  
  
In a flash, he saw the two of them together, both much younger than they were now, standing outside the white-washed church.  
  
"It'll always be us, Squall," she was saying. "Just you and me."  
  
And then, just as soon as it had come, it was gone.  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  
  
Rinoa banged on Selphie's door, hoping that she would be feeling better today. She desperately needed someone to talk to.  
  
After a few moments, Rinoa was about to turn away, when a tall man dressed in a police uniform answered the door. "Can I help you, miss?"  
  
"I-I don't know. Is this Selphie Tilmitt's apartment?"  
  
"It sure is. What business do you have with her?"  
  
"I'm a friend of hers. Is everything okay?"  
  
"Ms. Tilmitt has been arrested for the murder of Edea Kramer," he answered. "Where were you yesterday?"  
  
"I was staying with a friend of mine. Before that, I was staying with Selphie, but she said she was really sick last night, and that I should leave."  
  
He nodded thoughtfully. "I'm afraid I'll need you to come in. We might have so questions for you. What did you say your name was?"  
  
"Rinoa Heartilly," she answered. For a brief moment, she remembered what Squall had told her about the murders.  
  
(He was probably lying about that, too) she decided.  
  
The man nodded. "Alright. I'll talk with the other investigators. Just step inside for a moment, if you will."  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  
  
"Ms. Tilmitt, you have a visitor," the warden's voice boomed at the young girl through the bars.  
  
She looked up at him, a scowl twisting her usually cheerful face into a devilish look that blackened her features. Her dark green eyes glittered at him, sparkeling with beautiful venom.  
  
He opened the door to her cell and led her out to the visitation area. He seated her in front of a plastic window, and walked away, leaving her to her personal business.  
  
Selphie stared at the person in front of her, almost untrusting of her eyes. She slowly picked up the phone and said, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I thought I might congratulate you on your fine job."  
  
"If you're here to mock-"  
  
"I'm serious! Don't question my intentions!" her visitor hissed.  
  
Selphie hung her head in submission. "Very well. Why do you want to congratulate me?"  
  
"You've done a fine job of disposing of Edea. Otherwise, that annoying pest Rinoa might have gotten the answers she wanted. Had that happened, no doubt she would have left town before we could get rid of her. Which Squall should be doing as we speak. So there is nothing to stop us now."  
  
"So you'll be getting me out of here, now, right?"  
  
Her visitor laughed. "Of course not. Why do you think you're in here in the first place? I wanted you in here. I can't risk having you out, free to overthrow me, now can I?"  
  
"You bitch!" Selphie hissed.  
  
"Say what you want. The biggest mistake you ever made was thinking you could trust me."  
  
"I trusted you because we are the same! We are both creatures of hell!"  
  
"That's where you're wrong, friend. We are not the same. You see, I am better than you. I planned this, didn't I? And everything is going according to plan."  
  
With that, Selphie's "friend" stood an left, a wide smile gracing her features. The warden came then, and grabbed Selphie up from the chair.  
  
(This plan of yours won't work for you) Selphie thought as she was led back to her cell. (It's my turn at power.)  
  
Noticing that they were alone, Selphie turned abruptly to the warden with a smile on her face that dripped with burning sickness.  
  
"What's the hold up here?" he questioned gruffly.  
  
"It's been a little while since I fed," she replied. "I'm really quite hungry."  
  
"Well, you're going to have to wait until-"  
  
He was cut off by a sharp, burning sensation in his stomach as Selphie plunged her newly acquired, glittering black claws into his stomach.  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  
  
Rinoa stared coldly out the window, half-wondering what she'd done to deserve this kind of life. But then again, she already knew, didn't she?  
  
(I should've seen what was there) she thought to herself. (I shouldn't turned a blind eye. I had the feeling something was wrong. Why did I overlook it? So many innocent people died because I refused to see the truth. And this.... this is my punishment.)  
  
Her mind kept floating back to her time with Seifer. There had been so many warning signs, but she hadn't wanted to believe that someone she thought so highly of would do something like that.  
  
Now, as she sat in the back of a police car, heading for the station, she could do nothing but curse herself. It was her own fault, after all.  
  
After she'd answered a few questions, they identified her as the one under suspicion. Now, it seemed they intended to arrest Rinoa, since she'd been suspiciously involved with all the murders, and let Selphie go free.  
  
They drove up into the parking lot, surprised to find it empty, and quiet. They helped her out of the car and escorted her inside.  
  
Rinoa could still hear their souls screaming, even as their bodies lay sprawled out over the floor and desks. Blood smeared the floors, and dripped from the desks. It was soaked into the papers, and mingled with the overturned cups of coffee. Entrails lay, half torn and mangled in the shallow pool that had been ripped in the victims' stomachs. The corpses were still, silence having claimed them in their hellish death. Some stared out at her, their cold, lifeless eyes frozen with the pain they felt during the last few moments of their life.  
  
Upon taking in this scene of pure horror, the cops drew their guns, and looked around, searching for the murderer. They had temporarily forgotten about Rinoa, but somehow she felt safer tagging along behind them than if she were to go off on her own.  
  
They opened door after door, cautiously, hoping to see what attrocious group of human beings could have caused this mass destruction. They found their sole attacker in a crimson stained hall way, hunched over a body, as she dug into its stomach with her fangs.  
  
This creature, as it could hardly be called human, had black, leathery wings growing from its back, and dark, scaley skin. Its spine stuck up from its back, and was multi-jointed. Sharp, thick spikes had grown out from the back ot its feet and what appeared to be its elbows. Atop its head, a thin bunch of slick, brown hair hung dankly against its neck.  
  
Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, it turned its head, revealing an oddly human face, that was altered only by blakened lips, mud-colored scales, and blood encrusted fangs. Rinoa recognized her immediately. It was Selphie.  
  
Selphie launched herself at the nearest police officer, tearing his throat out. The others took panicked shots at the creature, most of which missed, due to their trembling hands.  
  
Rinoa took the oppurtunity to run to the only safe place she could think of. Squall's apartment.  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  
  
Squall leaned against the hood of his car which was parked in front of the run-down church. He took one last drag off his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and stomping it out. Smoking wasn't something he indulged in often. Only when he was seriously troubled.  
  
He had drove out from the town, hoping to think things through, but had yet to find a solution. He wasn't sure there was a solution to be had. On one hand there were his feelings for Rinoa, and on the other hand....  
  
He shook his head, unwilling to finish the thought. He picked up his pack of cigarettes from their place on the dash, and was about to pull another one out when he decided against it. Instead, he went on a walk through the grave yard, glancing down every now and then at the names of the long forgotten.  
  
Just as he was growing tired of this, a familiar name caught his eye. On an old, worn tombstone, the name "Rinoa Caraway" was engraved with a worn off date, no longer visible at the bottom.  
  
Squall kneeled down in front of it, studying it intently. Just as he did, he heard her voice whisper his name from above him. He looked up, but saw only a red rose petal floating on the wind.  
  
"Squall," came the voice again. "Come find me."  
  
He searched the air in front of him again, and thought he caught a glimpse of raven hair running into the trees. Something within told him to make chase.  
  
As he ran after the voice of his sole infactuation, a pair of sparkeling blue eyes peaked out from one of the broken windows of the church and followed Squall as he went. A small mouth broke out into a grin before its owner ran for the door, silky brown curls flying out behind her.  
  
Squall chased after the voice, not even sure why any more. Something inside him kept driving him forward, through the trees, a dried up ravine where a river used to run, a vast flower field, and finally, to the remains of a small, old-fashioned town.  
  
When he finally reached his destination, he saw Rinoa there, standing before the ruins of a large stone mansion. She was dressed completely in white, and her skin seemed to glow, as it had the night before. She looked at him with great sadness in her eyes before suddenly dissapearing. In her place was a little girl, dressed in white, with long brown hair hanging over her shoulders, and gorgeous blue eyes. But the thing Squall noticed most about her, was her face, and how familiar it looked.  
  
The little girl ran up to him, her smile still wide on her face, and said upon reaching him, "Good! I was worried you wouldn't come."  
  
Squall arched an eyebrow at the little girl. "What do you mean?"  
  
She looked up at him, profound admiration and love shining in her eyes, and said, "Come here."  
  
Slowly, he got down on one knee so that he was eye to eye with her. "What do you want?"  
  
She stared into his eyes intently, making him uncomfortable, before gently putting a hand to his forhead and saying, "You have to remember."  
  
Before he could question, his mind was suddenly flooded with visions of a time long since passed.  
  
***  
  
"It'll always be us, Squall. Just you and me," she said, taking hold of his hand.  
  
"How do you know that something won't come between us?" he asked.  
  
She looked at him very seriously then, her deep chocolate eyes shimmering with raw emotion. "I guess it'll be a question then, of whether or not you'll let something come between us."  
  
"But what if-" he began, but was silenced as she pressed a finger to his lips.  
  
"Let's burn that bridge when we get there, okay?" she said.  
  
He was silent for a moment, then said, "I won't let anything come between us."  
  
She smiled then leaned in and kissed him. "This is the first place we ever kissed," she pointed out.  
  
He nodded and grinned. "Yeah."  
  
She jumped up suddenly, a mischevious grin spreading across her face. "Come on. I want to show you something."  
  
She took his hand and they ran from the church, to a field of beautiful flowers.  
  
"Rinoa, I've seen this before," he pointed out.  
  
"I know," she said softly, tugging at her dress. "There was something else I wanted you to see. If you want to...."  
  
The scene faded again, to an event that occured just a few days later.  
  
Squall looked down on the newly dug grave, tears welling in his eyes, and his fist clutching a bouquet of roses. Beside him, stood a woman, just a few years older, her straight brown hair in a bun on top of her head as she stared down at the same grave with an inhuman coldness.  
  
"You didn't say you were going to kill her," he said in a low, wounded voice.  
  
"She would have stood in our way. And had she known what you were, she would have killed you just as quickly. She must have known, after what the two of you did in the flower field."  
  
He turned to her, a tear slipping down his cheek as he fixed her with a murderous gaze. "I hate you!" he hissed, before gently placing the flowers against the tombstone and walking away.  
  
She realized then that he would never be an ally of hers. Not in this life time. If anything, he would ruin everything she had worked so hard for, just to spite her. Well, she couldn't let that happen. She drew the dagger she kept hidden in her dress and stalked up behind him. Before he could turn around, she plunged it into his back, and laughed.  
  
***  
  
Squall opened his eyes slowly, and saw that the little girl still stood there, a look of deep sorrow rooted in her eyes.  
  
"How....? What....?" Squall could barely speak.  
  
She smiled sadly and said, "You walked away from her, and she was killed. You have a second chance."  
  
"Second chance at what? Who are you?"  
  
She threw her tiny arms around Squall's neck and hugged him tightly. "You have to hurry and make up your mind. Or you'll lose her again. Be careful, Daddy," she whispered and kissed him on the cheek before stepping back from him.  
  
"What do you mean-" he started to ask, but lost his words as a look of pain came over the child and she began to fade into thin air.  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  
  
When Rinoa reached Squall's apartment, she was surprised to see that the door wasn't locked. She stepped inside, slowly, and called Squall's name. When she saw there was no reply, she decided she would just hide there until he returned. As she was walking into his living area, a lone figure standing by the window caught her eye.  
  
It was a tall, slender woman with short brown hair piled on top of her head. She wore a dark red dress, that came down to her ankles and held a glass of wine in her hand.  
  
"Ah, Rinoa," she said, with a hellish smile contorting her face. "I've been waiting."  
  
Rinoa could only gasp at the person she saw before her. "Ellone?"  
  
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 


	10. Without Resolution

My heart inside is breaking  
  
This shit's gone way too far  
  
All this time I've been waiting  
  
I cannot grieve anymore  
  
--- KoRn "Here to Stay"  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Ellone's face twisted into a devilish grin as she turned to face Rinoa. Her eyes gleamed a murderous red, and glittering white fangs poked out of her mouth, pressing into her dark red lips.  
  
"I've been expecting you. Tell me, how have you been these days?" she asked in a regal voice.  
  
Rinoa stepped back slightly, shaking her head. "How...? You're dead. You can't be here. I saw your remains.... You can't....."  
  
She laughed. "Death is simply a state of mind for a creature such as myself. You might say I'm immortal. Yes, I like the sound of that. You, on the other hand... you are another story. You can die quite easily. And that is precisely what you will do. But first, I'd like to ask you a question. What makes you think those "remains" were mine?"  
  
Rinoa was taken aback by this little speech, and the best she could do was stutter out a reply. "It was wrapped in red material, and had washed up from the ocean," she said.  
  
"If you'll recall," Ellone began, "on that terrible night that Squall left you at the ball, you were wearing a red dress as well. You died on that night. I had to dispose of your body somehow. Yes, you alone stood in the way of our ruling. And now, the time has come again for us to take back our town."  
  
"Your town?" Rinoa repeated.  
  
"This town was founded for us. We needed a place away from humans. But, as they always do, they interferred. Now is the time for us to take back what is rightfully ours. But you stand in the way."  
  
"Why me?" she asked.  
  
"Because of what you are. Squall was supposed to take care of you himself. I suppose he chickened out. Poor boy. He's the best brother anyone could ever have, but he lacks a spine, I think. He lets his feelings run away with him."  
  
"He... he was trying to kill me?" she asked.  
  
Ellone nodded. "Now, enough talk. I'm hungry. And I'm tired of this little game. This ends now!"  
  
Ellone's fangs grew longer, and wings burst from her back. There was a sharp crack as her spine broke into multiple joints and claws grew from her elbows.  
  
Rinoa wasn't about to just stand there. She made a dash for the door, but didn't quite make it. Ellone lunged at her and tackled her to the ground, baring her fangs and raising her claws above her head. Rinoa struggled, trying to get off the ground. She felt sharp nails starting to dig into her side as she got her arm free and hit her in the nose with the heel of her hand, breaking Ellone's nose.  
  
Rinoa finally got to her feet and ran for the door. She got through it and ran as fast as she could, clutching at her bleeding stomach as went. As she reached the street below, Ellone leaned out of the window and yelled, "You have until midnight tomorrow night. Make your last day pleasant!"  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Squall felt his eyes grow heavy as he drove along the worn back roads to Balamb. It had been such a long, confusing night. After the little girl had dissapeared, he waited a while to see if she would come back. Why would she call him daddy? He knew he didn't have any children, unless he'd gotten Rinoa pregnant.  
  
When the child didn't return, he walked back to the grave yard and found his car, still parked outside the church, and decided it was time he returned home and rest.  
  
After remembering those events that the little girl had shown him, he suddenly remembered everything. He finally knew why he'd have those feelings everytime he saw Rinoa. He was in love with her, and now he knew why. They had always been together, from the moment she first went up to that shy little boy who sat by himself to the moment he left her at the ball seventeen years later. His leaving her had been her death. The little girl said he had a second chance. So what was he supposed to do now? Trust his sister, as he always had, or try to protect the love of his past.  
  
He was wound up intensly in his thoughts when he suddenly saw someone on the road and threw on the brakes. There Rinoa stood, looking like a deer caught in the headlights as she held the wound in her stomach.  
  
"Rinoa?" he questioned as he jumped out of his car.  
  
She stumbled back from him, pain and terror bright in her eyes. "You stay away from me!" she yelled. "I know what you are!"  
  
The look of concern on his face immediately turned to anger. "So. Ellone was right about you. I suppose you want to try and kill me now?"  
  
"Kill you?!" she exclaimed. "Don't try to pull that shit with me! I know you've been working with her the whole time!"  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Who?"  
  
"Your sister!" she hissed. "This whole thing has been part of your plot. Lure me in just so you can get rid of me!"  
  
He sighed and looked away. "I am supposed to kill you," he said softly. "But this whole thing wasn't just a plot. I wasn't supposed to go anywhere near you. But I did. Everynight."  
  
"Everynight?" she repeated.  
  
"You dreamt of me, right? Even before you really ever met me. And when you'd wake up in the morning, there'd be a rose at your side," he said, his eyes glittering with some unreadable emotion.  
  
"You were the one that was doing that?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "I put those dreams in your head, everynight after you fell asleep. And I'd leave you a rose."  
  
"Why? You had barely even looked at me that first day."  
  
"I didn't have to look at you long to realize how you made me feel. It was automatic. And now I know why. Ellone warned me that you would be coming, so I tried to stay away from you. But I wanted you to think of me. Even if it was no good to me."  
  
Her lips twitched slightly in an attenpt at a sad smile. "I did think of you. I had a lot of very intense dreams about you. Why else do you think it was so easy for you to get me into bed?" she said with a bitter laugh. "But you wouldn't have had to make me dream to make me think of you. I didn't have to look at you for very long to feel the same way."  
  
He shoved his hands in his pocket and stared down at the ground. "So tell me what to do, then. No matter what I choose, one of us will die."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, if I don't kill you, and manage to keep Ellone from killing you, then we won't be able to free our town from humans. We'll all die."  
  
"Why do you have to free your town?" Rinoa asked.  
  
He sighed. "With some many humans around, it's hard for us to feed safely."  
  
She scowled suddenly. "So, you murder along with them?"  
  
"Not yet, I haven't," he replied. "It's not safe until the humans are gone. That's what Ellone says."  
  
"You've gone twenty-something years without "feeding" as you call it, and nothing's happened to you yet. Maybe Ellone's lying to you."  
  
"That thought's crossed my mind many times. But she's all I've ever known or trusted... until you. But even if it wouldn't kill me if I was never allowed to feed, Ellone would probably kill me for not getting rid of you," he finished with a bitter laugh before reaching through his window and pulling out his pack of cigerettes again.  
  
"She's not much of a sister to kill you, is she?" Rinoa said softly as she watched him light his cigerette and take a short drag off it. She slowly stepped up to him, until her face was just inches from his, and pulled it out of his mouth. "Those things will kill you, you know."  
  
He smirked at her. "I know. What do I have to live for at the moment?"  
  
"What do you have to die for?" she asked, running a finger over his slightly parted lips. "You said you trusted me?"  
  
He nodded just a little, not wanting to break their small bit of contact.  
  
She seemed about to say something for a moment, but paused, then said, "What am I, Squall? What am I that I have to be killed in order for you to have your way?"  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"You're the exact opposite of us. You might say you're an angel."  
  
Rinoa laughed. "I'm not pure enough to be an angel."  
  
"I can show you," he said, almost in a whisper, his face still so close to hers that their breath mingled into one.  
  
"How?"  
  
He leaned in and began to kiss her, running a head up her side until she suddenly shouted in pain, and his hand was wet with blood.  
  
"What happened?" he demanded as she hunched over her wound.  
  
"Your sister. I went to your apartment and she tried to kill me. I managed to get away, but only because she let me. She told me I had until midnight tomorrow night."  
  
He gently put a hand over the wound and began to concentrate. After a moment, the gash closed, so that it was nothing but perfect skin.  
  
"You're a very handy person to have around," she laughed.  
  
He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. "Can I show you now?" he asked between kisses.  
  
Rinoa nodded and began to kiss him back as her hunger for him grew. He opened the door to his car and slid her inside. "I know a place where we can go."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Rinoa layed on her side, white, feathery wings out-stretched so that one of them arched over her body, the tip brushing lightly with Squall's black-scaled wings. She reached a hand over and drew a finger over the wicked curve of Squall's fangs.  
  
"You don't mind them?" he asked, careful of her fingers.  
  
She smiled and shook her head. "They're kinda sexy, actually."  
  
He leaned over and carefully grazed his fangs over the sensitive, glowing skin of her neck, making her sigh in pleasure. It was so dangerously exciting that it seemed to heighten the sensation. She ran her fingers through her hair and over his back, bringing to mind the image of Selphie as she was in the time of her transformation.  
  
"Why is it that everytime we're together, we change?" she asked in breathless voice as he continued to put his temporary accessories to work.  
  
"I don't know," he answered, pausing for a moment. "I guess we bring out the truth in each other."  
  
She would've smiled had she not been biting her lip. "You don't have the urge to 'feed' off me do you?"  
  
He returned to her lips and kissed her gently. "No, but I'm getting the urge for something else."  
  
Rinoa laughed. "I thought we were only doing this to prove your point?"  
  
"Well, if you don't want to..." he said, trying his best to form a tempting pout without peircing his own lip.  
  
She couldn't help but laugh at his expression. "It's not that, I just... there's so much that has to be figured out, and so little time."  
  
Squall's comical expression quickly turned to a dark frown. "Yeah. I guess."  
  
She ran a hand down his cheek, and his eyes drifted closed at the feeling. "You have to make a decision," she said in a soft, gentle voice. "I guess I can't blame you if you choose to kill me. If you don't you'll die."  
  
He looked at her for a moment, his eyes a heartbreaking mixture of hopelessness and childish confusion. Then he layed his head down on her chest and breathed deeply. She ran her hands through his hair again, but this time in a comforting manner. She wished so badly she could take away his pain.  
  
"I know this is hard for you," she said, her voice a soft whisper. "But like I said, I won't blame you."  
  
Squall was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "I know. That's part of what makes this so hard."  
  
"I remember, now," she said suddenly. "I remember everything that happened before."  
  
"You remember that it was my fault that you died?" he asked bitterly.  
  
"It wasn't your fault," she replied. "You didn't know."  
  
"Why do you have to be so....." he started to ask but faltered.  
  
"So what?" she pressed.  
  
"So you," he finished, looking up at her.  
  
"Would you rather I be someone else?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood slightly.  
  
"Never."  
  
"Something bothers me," Rinoa said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"When I saw the others change, they looked... bad. I mean, they had gotten all scaley, and hunched over and everything. How come that never happens to you when you change?"  
  
"Maybe I'm not demon enough," he laughed sourly.  
  
"If you were an orphan, then how can you be sure that Ellone's your sister? How much do you actually know about your parents?"  
  
"I was very little when they died. Ellone said we lived in a place called Winhill, and that we were both taken to Timber Orphanage by our nextdoor neighbors. She says our parents were killed by people of your species, because you hated us so much."  
  
"You know, other than the hair, you two really look nothing alike," she pointed out.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. Well, I guess we can't stay here forever. Our cover's gone. Where should we go now?"  
  
"Anywhere you want," she replied softly.  
  
He picked himself up from her and said, with a strange look on his face, "I bet we could find out something at the Department of Records. Maybe that will tell us if Ellone and I are really related."  
  
With that, they both proceeded to dress before leaving the flower field behind.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Both Squall and Rinoa were weary of returning to Balamb, knowing that Ellone could be anywhere, waiting for them. That's not what they found when they arrived there, however.  
  
Dozens of black vans with thick, tinted windows had pulled up in front of the police station, and men in black suits with clear face plates and armour surrounded the building with huge guns leveled at the door.  
  
"They must have found out about Selphie," Rinoa said.  
  
"What happened to her?" Squall asked.  
  
"She's one of you. And she went insane in prison. She killed everyone in there. No, not just killed. Mutulated."  
  
"That wasn't part of Ellone's plan," Squall replied. "She wanted to keep everything low key. She didn't want anymore attention to this place than there would have to be."  
  
"Inner politics?" Rinoa suggested. "Maybe Selphie had a reason to ruin Ellone's plan."  
  
"Could be," he said, watching as the men shouted at the building, commanding the murderer to come out, before they came in.  
  
Selphie's response was to throw a severed arm out of the second story window. It managed to thunk one of the cops in the head, thoroughly freaking him out. Upon the captain's order, they all began shooting at the windows on the top floor, shattering the glass so that it rained down in glittering chunks like oversized rain drops falling from the blackened sky.  
  
When they'd finally finished shooting, Selphie leaped from the busted second floor window, thick black liquid oozing from gashing in her body, and landed briefly on top of one of the vans, denting it in before leaping onto the top of another building.  
  
They quickly piled into their vans again and drove off, intending to make chase. Rinoa turned to look at Squall. "What do we do?"  
  
He sighed and shrugged. "Well, we could either leave Selphie to them, or try and go after her ourselves."  
  
"For right now, why don't we just try to get that information you wanted?" Rinoa said. "It might be best if we just get what we need and leave before Ellone comes after us."  
  
"We could try. But under these conditions, I think the place might be closed. Let's go have a look, anyway."  
  
They drove slowly over to the Department of Records building, noticing that the vans didn't seem to be anywhere near it. As they approached the building on foot, they saw that the place seemed to be closed, as most of the lights were off inside, but the glass door stood wide open, as if waiting for them to come in. They slowly wandered in, looking around cautiously. Everything seemed calm, though it looked as if the place had been abandoned in a hurry. Papers were scattered recklessly over the floor, and desk chairs lay on the floor, pushed over. An ashtray sat on a desk, gray smoke curling away from the unsmoked cigar that sat amidst the ashes.  
  
As Rinoa was walking through the office, some distance behind Squall, she felt something drip on her shoulder from the ceiling above. She looked up to see thick, red liquid dripping through the cracks of the cheap ceiling boards.  
  
"Squall...." she said, pointing up at the stained ceiling.  
  
On the floor above, sat Selphie, next to a bleeding corpse. The tile beneath it was broken and cracked. She sat there, feeling somewhat bored as she filed her claws on a clavical bone.  
  
When she heard the sound of Rinoa's voice below, a sadistic smile spread over her face as she decided it was time she pay her old friend a visit. As she walked over the crumbled bits of the floor that she had destroyed herself, there was a sudden whine and the floor below her feet gave way. She came crashing through the ceiling, landing right in front of Squall and Rinoa.  
  
For a long moment, neither of them moved, unsure if she still lived or not. Fortunately, it seemed that the fall had killed her, for she continued to lay there in a heap of broken plaster and insulation.  
  
"Let's just get what we came here from and leave," Rinoa said, staring at her former friend.  
  
Squall nodded and began typing up his name on the search page of one of the computers. The computer's tower gave a vague rattle as it strained for the information that was stored away in its memory.  
  
Finally, a file came up with all the information on Squall Leonhart that was ever known.  
  
Name: Squall Leonhart  
  
I.D. #: 1482960  
  
Hair: Brown  
  
Eyes: Blue  
  
Height: 5' 8"  
  
Occupation: CLASSIFIED  
  
Relatives: Ellone Leonhart, sister  
  
Parents: Raine Leonhart, Laguna Leonhart, deceased  
  
"So, those are my parents," Squall said casually. "Now, I guess I have to check Ellone's info now."  
  
He typed in her name and quickly scanned over her information until he found what he was looking for.  
  
Relatives: Squall Leonhart, brother  
  
Parents: Laguna Leonhart, Alicia Chang, father deceased  
  
"You had different mothers," Rinoa said. "Maybe that's the difference."  
  
Squall's eyes briefly reflected his pain of betrayal. "She never told me we had different mothers. It seems that her's is still alive. She must not have wanted me to know."  
  
Rinoa squeezed his shoulders in support. "So what now?"  
  
"So now, I get rid of you two," a familiar voice came from behind and above them.  
  
They both looked up just in time to see Selphie lunging at them.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	11. Resurrect

When she woke in the morning  
  
She knew that her life had passed her by  
  
She called out a warning  
  
Don't ever let life pass you by  
  
--- Incubus "Warning"  
  
Chapter 11  
  
There was only a split second to react. The attack was so sudden, and so unexpected, that there was hardly anything Squall could do about it. So, he did the only thing he could. As he noticed that Selphie was headed right for Rinoa, his intincts took over, and he immediately pushed her out of the way, only to be hit with the same attack just a moment later. He was knocked to the ground, and felt pain all over his body as claws tore into his skin. He could vaguely hear Rinoa screaming his name, and the sound of glass shattering nearby.  
  
The next thing he knew, he could hear something loud go off, like thunder cracking the sky, then Selphie fell back, freeing him from her weight.  
  
Ellone stepped through the broken window, her dress catching on the jagged peices of glass that remained.  
  
In her hand she held a silver pistol, and on her face was that twisted smile that contorted her features into something that was born only of the blackest evil.  
  
"Fools," she hissed, surveying the scene around her. She gingerly stepped over to her brother, who lay still on the floor, blood spilling from multiple wounds in his body. Selphie lay nearby, a thick black liquid gushing from the entrance wound in her back, and the exit wound in her chest. Beside her was small bullet, the tip of which was colored with a striking green.  
  
Ellone bent close to Squall, observing the fatal wounds that covered him.  
  
"Get away from him!" Rinoa shouted, shoving Ellone out of the way and kneeling beside him in her place. She carefully touched his face, careful of the gashes that covered her hand in blood. "Squall..." she whispered as her eyes shone with her pain through their glassy surface.  
  
He stared up at her, his eyes reflecting her pain. He grabbed her hand and grasped it as best as he could, giving it one last squeeze with all the strength he had left before his eyes drifted closed and his chest ceased its steady rise and fall.  
  
Ellone watched the scene with an unmistable coldness in her eyes. She realized that she'd failed, again, to win her brother's loyalty. So he was dead now. It served the fool right, in her eyes.  
  
At that moment, the sound of several vehicles pulling into the parking lot filled the room, which had been silent save the sound of Rinoa's sobs. Rinoa raised her head, her swollen eyes meeting with Ellone's. They both stood, as if in some mutual understanding that this was not the time to carry out their war.  
  
After throwing a glance at the black vans over her shoulder, Ellone looked back to Rinoa and said, "This is far from over."  
  
"Damn straight!" Rinoa hissed, her eyes flooding primal with rage.  
  
Ellone smiled at her then, before plunging a hand into the purse that hung at her side, and producing a fist full of some unknown substance. She brought her fist in front of her face and opened it to reveal a red powder- like compound. Then, with a slight puff of breath, she sent the dust flying over to Rinoa, covering her skin in a burning feeling.  
  
Rinoa began to shake violently as she collapsed to her knees on the ground. Ellone quickly ran out of the building through the back, easily escaping.  
  
Before Rinoa could gather her wits, she felt her wings bursting from her back, and her skin beginning to glow. Just then, the small army poured out from the vans and burst into the room. They laid eyes on Rinoa and immediately surrounded her, their machine guns leveled.  
  
A man stepped forward, pushing his way through the group. He was a tall, thin man wearing a plain gray suit and a pair of thick black sun glasses.  
  
"Don't shoot her," he commanded the men. "She is the one we're looking for. Secure her, and load her into the van. We'll take her to our facilities and study her." He paused for a moment and happened to look down at Squall. "And take him to the morgue for an autopsy. I want to know what this beast is capable of."  
  
_____________________  
  
11:00 P.M.  
  
The first thing that Rinoa became aware of as she opened her eyes was the steady beeping from beside her. She attempted to move her arms, but the were held tightly in place. The more she struggled, she felt a sharp pain in her arms, as if they had been stuck with needles. There was a dull pain in her shoulders, as they felt unsuported. Her lower back and head rested on a cushioned surface, but her shoulders were wedged uncomfortably in the gap between the surfaces.  
  
Her eyes fluttered up, and all she could see was the smooth white ceiling above her. As her ears strained to hear better, she began to notice low voices talking in the background, and the scuffling of feet against a cold tile floor.  
  
Rinoa tried to speak, but found that her throat was dry, so that her attempt came out as more of a wheez. Still, it caught someone's attention. The next thing she knew, some girl with short, dark brown hair with an emotionless face was staring down at her. The woman wore a long white coat, and clutched a clip board to her chest.  
  
"She's awake," the woman called over her shoulders before turning her cold gaze back to Rinoa.  
  
More people came and gathered around her, seemingly facinated. They whispered and murmered amongst each other, pointing down at her every now and then. Rinoa couldn't help but wondered if she was being punished by waking up as some sort of caged monster, deprived of freedom and doomed to a life of humiliation.  
  
Just as she was wondering if they would stand there gaping at her for the rest of eternity, a voice from the other side of the room caused the crowd to part.  
  
"Move. Get away from her. You'll give her a heart attack crowding around her like that."  
  
It was the same man from before, that had ordered her capture. He towered over her for a moment as he studied her, before tearing one of the tubes out of her arm and turning on the doctors with disgust on his face.  
  
"I told you to study her, not torture her!" he shouted. "We need her in good condition."  
  
"But sir, we needed some samples and-" one of them began.  
  
"I don't want your excuses. You'll have to find another way of going about it. I know you can, you've done it before. Now, unhook her from all these machines and get her a uniform. Let me know when she's ready, so that I can speak to her and escort her to her room."  
  
With that, the man walked out of the room, leaving the doctors to take care of Rinoa. The woman walked over to her and unstrapped her arms from the table-like structure on which she was laying. They pulled the tubes out of her arms and bandaged her up. As the woman helped Rinoa to stand, two more doctors walked over to her, one with a glass of water, and one with folded white cloth tucked under her arm.  
  
Rinoa was hesitant about drinking the water, but was desperately thursty, so decided to take the chance. She found that she was still in her own clothes, but they were torn and tattered, both from her transformation, and the doctor's IVs. They handed her the folded clothing and showed her to an isolated area where she could dress.  
  
She came out dressed in the facilities trade-mark white jump-suit that sported the orginazations symbol in a patch on her right arm. They called for the man in the gray suit, who came in and took her by the arm, leading her out of the blank white medical room and into the wide, ehoey halls outside.  
  
After a few moments of walking down the long grayish corridors, the man pushed a door open and led her into a huge office. He sat her down in a chair in front of his desk, then sat down across from her.  
  
"Let me start off by saying that it is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Heartilly," he said, offering a friendly smile.  
  
Rinoa studied his slicked back gray hair, wrinkled face, and dull blue eyes. He looked like he could've been her granfather.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Forgive me, I'm terribly rude sometimes. I'm Mr. Vinzer. I'm the head of this dapartment."  
  
"What am I here for?"  
  
"We want to study you," he answered. "You see, we've been studying your kind for a long while. It was first brought to our attention many years ago, when a strange case of murders began to appear. It seemed as if someone, or rather, something, was feeding off people. The FBI investigated, but they ended up killing their suspects, rather than maintaining them for study. So, we decided that, not only did we want to study you, but we wanted to protect you. You can't help the way you are, after all. And you, Ms. Heartilly, are in a lot of trouble with the FBI. They suspect you, just like we did. But we got to you first, so you're safe now. You can stay here in peace."  
  
"Forgive me for being skeptical," she shot back. "But I don't believe you brought me here to protect me. And what if I don't want to stay?"  
  
Vinzer chuckled softly. "I completely understand your doubts. And I truly wish we could let you go. And one day, we will. But first, we must win our battle for a more tolerent world. Only then will it be safe for you to leave."  
  
Rinoa stood up suddenly. "I don't care if it's safe! I just want to go home! I... I want to see Squall..."  
  
"And who is this Squall?" he asked curiously.  
  
Rinoa collapsed back in the chair and covered her eyes with her hand. "He died for me..."  
  
Vinzer sighed. "Come along, Ms. Heartilly, and allow me to escort you to your room. I believe that you will feel better after a night of rest."  
  
Rinoa allowed herself to be taken to her room, which was more of a cell, without further struggle. The room was white, and padded, with a steel frame bed, painted white, and a barred window that looked out over the sea. There was also a barred window high in another wall, that connected her room with the one to the right of it. It was located on the same wall that her bed was pushed against.  
  
Vinzer left her alone after asking her if she needed anything. Rinoa sprawled out over her bed and had curled up in a ball, ready to go to sleep, when she heard someone call to her from the window above the bed.  
  
"Hey! Is there anyone in there?"  
  
"What do you want?" Rinoa grumbled.  
  
"You are one of them, aren't you? You're an angel."  
  
"I'm not anything," Rinoa replied in a soft whisper.  
  
"Yes, I sense it. You're one of them. Those that I used to fight, and despise. Imagine, an angel being captured and put into the cell right next to mine!"  
  
"Who are you?" Rinoa asked after a moment. "Or should I say what?"  
  
Low laughter rose from the other side of the wall, then the answer, "I'm what you might call a demon, dear child. And my name, if you must know, is Alicia. Alicia Chang."  
  
_____________________  
  
"Well, what do you think?" one of the doctors asked.  
  
"I think we need to handle this in the morning. It's far to late to deal with this shit."  
  
The man nodded, and began to walk out of the room, followed by his female partner. They switched the light off and walked out of the room, leaving behind the body they were supposed to do an autpsy on.  
  
A few moments passed in silence, until suddenly, in the middle of the room, a small form dressed in white appeared and walked over to the wall, a small hand scanning over the silver drawers, until finding the right one and pulling it open.  
  
The small, pale intruder pulled a stool out from under the examination table and used it to sit on and look down upon the sheet- covered corpse. Slowly, the tiny, chubby fingers pulled back the sheet, revealing a scarred face, and laid a hand on the forehead.  
  
"This wasn't suposta happen," a small, fragile voice whispered as the eyes searched for a sign of life.  
  
Slowly, the eyelids moved, and a streak of brilliant blue appeared beneath thick black lashes.  
  
"Rinoa..." came his weak, hoarse voice as he stared into the familiar face.  
  
There was a soft giggling from his side, bringing him back to awarness. He slowly sat up, and studied his surroundings for a moment before his peircing blue spheres settled on the child who sat at his side.  
  
"It's you again," he said, studing her face through the darkness.  
  
The child lunged forward and threw her tiny arms around his neck. "I'm so glad it worked!" she exclaimed. "I told her it wouldn't work, but she said I had to try. I'm glad I did. I'm so happy you're alive, Daddy!"  
  
"Look kid, I'm not your father," he said, attempting to pry the child of him.  
  
"Of course you are!" she exclaimed, gripping him tighter. "You just don't know it yet." She felt silent as she studied her hand, which was suddenly becoming transparent again. "Oh no! It's happening again. Mommy's in trouble. You have to help her."  
  
"Mommy?" he questioned. "Rinoa?!"  
  
She nodded. "Uh-huh. This wasn't suposta happen. Selphie messed everything up. You weren't supposta die."  
  
"I'm WHAT?!" Squall shouted as he jumped up from the table where he had laid.  
  
The girl winced slightly at his yelling. "You were dead. I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?"  
  
Squall studied her for a moment then said, softly, "No, I'm not mad at you. But am I dead now?"  
  
"No, I brought you back. Are you proud of me, Daddy?"  
  
He nodded and came to stand over the little girl on her stool. "Yes, I'm proud of you. But tell me, how did you come to be here?"  
  
"You'll understand," she answered. "But only if you help Mommy. If you don't, then I'll dissapear again."  
  
Squall nodded. "Okay. Where is she?"  
  
"I don't know," she answered. "Ellone does."  
  
"Thanks, um... what's your name?"  
  
"My name is Ethereal. It was Mommy's idea to name me that. She said I have your eyes."  
  
Squall couldn't help the rare, but beautiful wide smile that spread across his face. "Yeah, you do have my eyes."  
  
Ethereal hugged him again, tightly, and said, "You have to go now, Daddy. I have to go too. Good luck! And I love you, Daddy."  
  
Squall didn't really know this little girl claiming to be his daughter. He'd only met her once before. But it didn't matter. Just knowing that this human being was his, and that she loved him unconditionally, was more than enough. He felt something that he'd only felt when Rinoa was around him. He felt his heart melt.  
  
"I love you, too," he replied hugging her back as hard as he could without hurting her.  
  
As he slowly let her, go he noticed that she seemed to have turned transparent.  
  
"Go," she said, urgently.  
  
He nodded and quickly headed out the door, knowing immediately where to go.  
  
_____________________  
  
"Alicia Chang?!" Rinoa repeated, now fully awake.  
  
"Yes. That's my name. You've heard of me?"  
  
Rinoa was silent for a moment before saying, "You had a daughter?"  
  
"Yes, a long time ago. A rather stupid mistake, actually. I was such a fool. So young. But it's all in the past, now."  
  
"How do you become pregnant?" Rinoa asked cautiously.  
  
"Well, I had grown up in the town of Balamb, but moved away hoping to seek a new land of promise. So I left everything I knew behind. Including my old sweetheart. We weren't very compatible, really, but we were the same species, at least. Well, I never found what I was looking for, and returned, in defeat, to the one place I knew I could count on. There he was. Laguna Leonhart. Married. To a human of all things! Well, the two of us starting having an affair, and before I knew it, I was pregnant. He kept telling me to take care of the child, and that he would get a divorce soon. Next thing I know, he has a child of his own. Half human, half demon. I was enraged, for I realized then that he had lied to me. I killed his wife, Raine, and for a short time afterwards, we were together. It was then that Ellone grew a fondness for her half brother. A short while later, Laguna commited suicide, and I was captured and brought here. The children... To this day I don't know what happened to them. You must know something of Ellone's whereabouts."  
  
Rinoa sighed. "She's in Balamb. More powerful than ever."  
  
"That's nice to hear," Alicia returned, relief in her voice. "And her brother? Squall, was it?"  
  
Rinoa inhaled deeply as she felt the tears return to her eyes. "He's dead."  
  
"That's horrible! How long?"  
  
"A few hours," she replied in a shaky voice.  
  
Alicia gave a sigh. "Well, nothing is ever perfect. Except this place. Nothing ever changes here."  
  
"And you think its perfection?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Yes. It's been so long since I was out among the real world, that I don't remember what it was like. Just this. It's safe. It's... home."  
  
Oddly enough, Rinoa was flooded with sympathy for this woman. How strange, to feel sorry for your worst enemy's mother.  
  
"I know it must seem strange to you for me to act like this," Alicia said suddenly. "I don't like it. I don't know what it is to like something anymore. I don't know what it is to live. I just am. And more and more, as the years pass, I wish I wasn't."  
  
"You know what I am," Rinoa said quietly.  
  
"Yes. Strange, right? That I should tell all this to my enemy. But you know, no matter what we are, we are both lost to the same fate. We are both denied life. We are... the same, as hard as it is to believe."  
  
"Yeah," Rinoa agreed softly. "Maybe together we could find some way out of here."  
  
Alicia laughed bitterly. "We can try. But understand, there is very little hope. We could very well die."  
  
"I don't have much to live for anymore," she answered.  
  
_____________________  
  
Squall walked to his apartment to find his door open, and Ellone sitting calmly at his table. Selphie's body had been thrown, face down, in the middle of the floor. Ellone sat at the table, an elaborate candle holder sitting in front of her. In it, was an eyeball, carved from someone's face. Flames rose from it, as Ellone stared at it intently.  
  
"You can see a person's memories this way," Ellone said before turning to face her brother. "So, you're alive. Good. Maybe now you've seen the error of your ways."  
  
"Where is she?" Squall demanded.  
  
She laughed. "Fool! As if I'd tell you."  
  
"You will if you want to live."  
  
She studied him for a moment before scowling. "How can you threaten me? You have nothing! I'm far more powerful than you are."  
  
Squall pulled a knife from his belt and held it to her face. "You said that burning someone's eye allows you to look into their memories. I think I'll try that myself."  
  
"You wouldn't do that to your sister," she said.  
  
"Bitch!" he hissed. "I know the truth. You and I had different mothers. I bet I'm not really like you, am I?"  
  
"Squall," she began calmly.  
  
"AM I?!" he repeated.  
  
She cringed. "No. Not completely like me. But what does it matter?"  
  
"You lied to me! You made everything so much harder than it had to be. All for your own selfish reasons."  
  
"Squall, I did you a favor. I made you powerful. You could still be powerful. It's not too late. By midnight tomorrow, this place will be ours once again. Join us, Squall. We can over look that flaw of yours."  
  
"Flaw?" he repeated.  
  
She nodded and smiled. "Yes. That's how good we are. We can over- look your flaw of being half-human."  
  
"You can't accept me the way I am? Rinoa... Rinoa knows I'm a demon, and she doesn't think of it as a flaw. She know it's just what I am, and she... I think she loves me."  
  
Ellone rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. Just get that knife out of my face."  
  
Squall placed it against the skin beneath her eye. "Tell me!"  
  
"You make me sick!" she exclaimed.  
  
"No more than you make me!" he shot back, pressing the blade even more. "TELL ME!"  
  
"She's at a special government facility in southern Esthar. The place is heavily guarded. You'll never make it in."  
  
"I'll do what I have to," he replied, pulling away the knife and starting for the door.  
  
Ellone jumped up from her chair. She could feel the transformation beginning. She just had to stall him.  
  
"I hope you die there!" she shouted.  
  
Squall didn't reply, but flung the knife backwards, so it went flying out behind him and almost stabbed into her head. He walked out the door, then, and didn't once look back.  
  
____________________  
  
9:00 A.M.  
  
Rinoa awoke in the morning to find a stranger standing over her. It was an older looking woman with light brown hair, and brown eyes. Her face was slightly wrinkled, and she wore the same white jump-suit that Rinoa did.  
  
"So, you are the famous Rinoa," she said after Rinoa had opened her eyes. "Who are you?"  
  
"You don't recognize my voice? It's me, Alicia Chang, whom you talked to last night. Remember?"  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, sorry."  
  
"No problem. Come on. They serve breakfast in ten minutes. First come, first serve basis."  
  
"How many other people could there be in here?" Rinoa asked as she stood and ran her fingers through her hair.  
  
"There are a lot of people out there with special abilities that are studied here. A lot of people who have missed their chance at life."  
  
Rinoa shoved her hands into her pockets. "So, have you thought anymore about what I said last night?"  
  
Alicia nodded. "Yes. I believe it's worth a shot. What do we have to loose after all?"  
  
Rinoa closed her eyes briefly, feeling the tears threaten her eyes again.  
  
"You looked troubled," Alicia said.  
  
Rinoa nodded. "He died for me," she whispered.  
  
Alicia was silent for a moment, then said, "Squall? Squall died for you?"  
  
Rinoa could only nod.  
  
"Don't worry, dear. When we escape, you will be able to get revenge on those who caused this."  
  
She shook her head. "I don't really want to. I just... I just want to make sure he's honored with the respect he deserves. That he's given a proper burial. I wanna make sure Ellone doesn't find some way to cover it up, so that no one ever knows. Squall deserves to be known." Rinoa fell silent for a moment then said, "You know, I never would have pictured you as Ellone's mother. Or a demon for that matter."  
  
"I've had a lot of time on my hands to think," Alicia replied.  
  
At that moment, a siren began goin off, and the lights in the hall began to flash red. An announcement came over the intercom that all guards were to report to the front gate. "This looks like our oppurtunity," Alicia said. "What do you think?"  
  
"Let's take it," Rinoa replied determinedly.  
  
_____________________ 


	12. Calm before the Storm

Sitting 'round the house all day  
  
Thinking 'bout the hang over and the party  
  
I left the fuckin' keys then had to beg for  
  
A ride from a stranger that I never met before  
  
He acted so friendly that I had to take the ride  
  
But for some reason he resembled that guy  
  
Wanted for a robbery and beating on his kids  
  
"You remind me of my step-son," he chuckled with a grin  
  
--- Nonpoint "What a Day"  
  
Chapter 12  
  
The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the sky with a swirl of etravagent colors. The remaining rays of light reached out from the sky and gently carressed darkened curls as they hung against pale cheeks.  
  
"You did well, today," a smooth voice spoke from behind before laying a comforting hand on the thin shoulder.  
  
"Thank you," the small voice whispered. "But I still don't understand this. Why am I here, and they're there?"  
  
"It's difficult to explain, dear. But, if you like, I'll tell you what I can."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
"Everything has a destiny. But despite this, nothing is ever truly certain. The slightest thing can be different, and change the path of one's life. Especially when it comes to the eternal battle between good and evil. Your father and mother died because of some bad choices they made before. And because they died, evil reigned over one region for a long while, bringing a time of great pain and struggle for many. They couldn't pass to heaven, for the weight of their failure weighed their spirits down. They couldn't be damned to hell, for their hearts were too good and pure. So their spirits were condemned to purgotory, where they would wait for centuries to be born again. Then, they would be given a chance to redeem themselves and save the human species from another reign of terror."  
  
"That still doesn't explain everything."  
  
"The future is still uncertain, but either way, it must go on. What we see here now, is what our future will be if neither side wins, which is possible. If they fail, it will all turn for the worst. We will all die. But if they survive, they will join us here, in peace and happiness, alive and well."  
  
The child bent down then, before two tombstones, and gently ran her tiny fingers over the inscriptions on both.  
  
"What if they don't survive? Will you still be here? Will I?"  
  
"It depends, really. If your mother makes it out of the government facility, then I live. If not, then I won't."  
  
"And me?"  
  
Tears filled the dark eyes that looked down upon the child. "If your mother doesn't survive... then your existance will be erased."  
  
The child nodded gently. "I've done my part, now, right? All that I can do, I've done?"  
  
"Yes. All that you could possibly do. After all, you're such a young child."  
  
"Then all I can do now is hope," the tiny voice whispered.  
  
She didn't look up as her companion walked away, back toward the house where the two stayed. Instead she kept her eyes on the tombstones in front of her. In her hands she held two long stem red roses. She brought them to her nose and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent before laying one against each of the head stones.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
9: 05 A.M.  
  
The siren continued blaring as Rinoa and Alicia walked down the hall. Alicia pulled Rinoa over to a window over-looking the front gates and pointed down to the comotion outside.  
  
Two people, a man and a woman from the looks of them, stood in the middle of a group of guards, machine guns pointed in their faces. Both wore long, dark trench coats and sun glasses to shield their eyes. The man was tall, and dark-skinned, with broad shoulders and thick arms. The woman was also tall, but much thinner. Her silver hair glistened in the early morning sun light and framed the unhappy scowl on her face.  
  
"This is our chance," Alicia whispered to Rinoa.  
  
Rinoa nodded her agreement and replied, "Lead the way."  
  
Alicia began walking down the hall again, her pace quickening with each step. She didn't bother to look back and make sure if Rinoa was following after her. She could tell from the determination in her voice that she would do whatever it took to get of that hell hole.  
  
As they passed by a guard, who eyed them suspiciously, Alicia gave a cheerful smile and said, "Have to get some breakfast before it's gone."  
  
The guard smiled back and nodded before continuing about his business.  
  
"You're good," Rinoa muttered from behind her.  
  
They made it to the elevator, where another guard was standing as he waited for the doors to close. Alicia quickly made note of his chosen destination, the third floor, and immediately began talking to distract him as she pushed the button for the first floor, where everyone but visitors, doctors, and guards were prohibited.  
  
"It's a beautiful day, no?" Alicia said, flashing another grin at the guard as she casually stood in front of the button console.  
  
"It's fine," he replied curtly.  
  
"Yes, I remember these kind of days when I was younger. Maybe your age? Yes, I remember going on a picknic with my sweetheart. Ah, young love. So sweet. Do you have a young sweetheart at home?"  
  
"Uh-huh. She's called my wife," the man replied with contempt edging his voice.  
  
"Oh, how nice. Make sure you are good to your wife, and that you appreciate her. You never know when someone you love might just dissapear. I know, I'm old and full of wisdom! Oh look, it's your floor. Too bad, I enjoy talking to the younger crowd. Be good, and make sure you bathe good! Don't want to stink at work," she said, as she shoved him out of the now open elevator doors.  
  
He turned around a gave her a funny look before walking off, muttering something about old people.  
  
As the doors slid closed again, Rinoa burst into laughter. "Your really going all out for this, aren't you?"  
  
"Hey, it's not often I get to play the "old and senial" card. I might as well have fun with it when I can," Alicia replied.  
  
The doors slid open again a few moments later, revealing the lobby that few of the prisoners there had ever seen. It was white, like most of the building, but had black marble flooring, with the facility's logo in the middle. There was a long counter to the right of the elevator where receptionists answered phones and worked at their computers if they weren't talking to someone. Small, but cushioned chairs were set up in front of the counter for people to wait in. More elevators stretched out over the rest of the wall and people in expensive suits lined up in front of them as they waited to pile into them. Against the left wall, was a much smaller counter with a large computer monitor mounted or it. Names, numbers, and symbols flashed over it, constantly changing. A sign over the monitor read "International Exchange." They were selling the results to their research to the highest bidder.  
  
"Let's hurry before any one sees," Alicia said after a moment. "There are many guards here. They almost always catch escapees before they get anywhere near this floor, so they're unsuspecting. But we have to hurry before they notice us."  
  
While the lobby made the place look like any normal business building, the outside made it clear that this was no regular operation. There were three walls surrounding the facility. The first was tall and chain link, with barbed wire rimming the top. The second was made of solid concrete and was the same height as the first with thick steel bars for the gate. The third, outer wall was a solid sheet of thick, titanium steel with a sliding gate at the front.  
  
All of the gates were closed, and the first and third had guard posts, with a guard house next to the entrance of the third gate, where the guards would check for clearance. Every now and then, the gates would slid open and a shiny, expensive car would slid through and take a spot in the parking lot.  
  
"What now?" Rinoa asked as they hurried out through the doors and crouched behind the finely trimmed hedges.  
  
"They're all busy interrogating the visitors. All we have to do is get into the back of a car and hide there until it gives us a free ride out of here," Alicia explained.  
  
"Sounds too easy," Rinoa said.  
  
"They're distracted," Alicia said. "What better chance do we have?"  
  
"How are we going to get into the cars? They've got to be locked."  
  
"Don't worry," Alicia whispered with a soft chuckle. "There isn't a car made that I can't get into, somehow."  
  
"Then we better get going, now," Rinoa said as she observed the two strangers nodding to the guards.  
  
Alicia took off without any further warning, signaling Rinoa to follow behind her. Alicia rolled beneath the nearest car and instructed Rinoa to look out for her. After a few moments, sparks flew from beneath the car and Alicia crawled out from under it.  
  
"We're in," she said and opened the back door.  
  
The two jumped in and quickly locked the door behind them. About five minutes later, a middle-aged man in a gray business suit stepped into his car and slid into the driver's seat before setting his brief-case down in the passenger seat.  
  
He seemed about to start up the car, when he suddenly pulled a pistol from his jacket and pointed it to the backseat, saying, "I know you two think your slick, but it will take you a lot more effort to get away from us."  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
Squall leaned against a pillar as he stood outside the train station, watching cars pull into the parking lot. His mind raced as he tried to think of some way to find this place where they were keeping Rinoa. He had looked all over the map inside the station, but there was no sign of it. He even tried asking around, but no one had even heard of it. He had just about decided that Ellone had lied to him again, when he noticed an expensive car pulling off a dirt road and into the parking lot.  
  
He noticed as he inspected the car, that there was an I.D. tag on the back of the car, with the words, "South Esthar Scientific Research Institute" on it.  
  
As a young man in a navy blue suit exited the car, Squall slowly, casually aproached him and said, "You work there?" as he nodded toward the tag on the back winshield of his car.  
  
"Yeah," the slightly older man replied. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I've got some business there," Squall replied. "But I can't find it. You think you could give me directions?"  
  
The man looked at him in disgust. "You certainly don't look the type to be doing business there. I'm sorry, I don't think I can help."  
  
He started to walk off, but stopped when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked.  
  
"You wouldn't be stupid enough to do that, I hope," the man said without turning around.  
  
"No, of course not," Squall laughed slightly. "So, what is this car, anyways? A Jaguar? I never was too good with cars. So how much is it worth to you?"  
  
The man turned around immediately. "You want to steal it, or shoot it?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking it needed some ventalation holes. I could do that for you for free, then leave you to your business. Or, I could leave your car alone, and you can give me a ride to this "South Esthar Research Institute". It's your desision."  
  
The man sneered, but opened the driver's door in defeat. "Who's driving?"  
  
"You," Squall answered. "And make sure you get me where I want to go. You play any tricks on me..." he didn't need to finish.  
  
They settled into the car, and Squall cracked the window as the drove before pulling out his pack of cigerettes. He wasn't in the mood to smoke, but he wanted to make sure this man was cooperative. He lit one up and took a short drag from it.  
  
"Hey, hey, not in the car!"  
  
"As you wish," Squall replied in his low, smooth voice. He reached over and pushed the tip of his cigerette into the dash to put it out.  
  
"No! Don't do that!"  
  
"Then do what I tell you," Squall growled.  
  
After a few moments of driving, Squall put the pistol to the mans neck and said, "Stop."  
  
The business man looked over at Squall with pure terror in his eyes. "You're.. you're not going to rape me or anything, are you?"  
  
Squall hit him across the face, knocking his head into the steering wheel. "You're disgusting, you know that? Just tell me where the facility is!"  
  
"Up that road and to the left."  
  
"Good. Now get out."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Squall turned and glared at him, "What don't you understand? Get the fuck out of the car!"  
  
He opened the door and stepped out of the car, frowning, and watched as Squall got out and changed to the driver's seat. He walked around and was about to get into the passenger side when Squall slammed the door shut.  
  
"What, you're just going to leave me here, with no way to get back to the train station?" he asked.  
  
Squall threw the guys brief-case out the window and said, "You know how to hitch hike, don't you?" before driving off.  
  
Squall slammed his foot down on the petal and drove as fast as he could. He punched a button and scanned through the radio stations until he found some loud, blasting metal music. He picked up a pair of sun glasses off the dash and put them on as the sun shown in his eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, Rinoa," he said to himself. "I'm coming."  
  
After following the directions he was given, he noticed the research facility looming in the distance. When he finally reached the front gate, he was stopped by a guard, who checked his I.D. tag before allowing him to pass through. He parked in the nearest parking space and began walking toward the entrance, barely able to contain his excitement at knowing Rinoa was close by.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
9:30 A.M.  
  
"I think you need some time to think over your disobedience."  
  
A door was pushed open in front of Rinoa's eyes, and she was shoved into a laboratory-type room. There were computer consoles lining the right side of the room, with over-sized monitors buzzing and beeping with information. A team of scientists and doctors hurried around the room, jotting things down on their clip boards. In the middle of the room was a large, horizontal tube that was surrounded by equipment on all sides but one. The top was open, and the inside cushioned, but with straps and shackles poking out from the smooth light blue surface of the cushioned interior.  
  
A female doctor approached them, her short blonde hair dangling from a pony tail, and her red-rimmed glasses shielding her hazel eyes.  
  
"Who do we have here?" she asked Rinoa captor.  
  
"This is Ms. Rinoa Heartilly. She was attempting escape. She's only been here for one night, and already she's causing trouble. What do you think?"  
  
The doctor lead the two over to a table where Rinoa was forced to sit down with the doctor and the guardsmen.  
  
"How much is she worth to Vinzer?" the doctor asked.  
  
The guardsmen shrugged. "I don't know. I think she's more trouble than she's worth, personally. But you know how Vinzer feels about his specimens."  
  
The doctor nodded then looked to Rinoa. "Tell me, Ms. Heartilly, what's your reason for attempting escape?"  
  
Rinoa glared at her for a moment before leaning forward and saying, "I wanted my life back. Just like a lot of other people in here do. So tell me, doctor, how you're able to sleep at night knowing that hundreds of people will never know what it is to live freely again."  
  
She laughed. "Yes, this is a determined one alright. And by the way, Rinoa, I have a name. My name is Jennifer Corigan. I'm a highly revered doctor. You should consider yourself lucky. Anway, I think it would be in our best interest if we opt for plan B. Go report to Vinzer. If he doesn't agree, then he can interfere."  
  
The guardsmen nodded and left thr room. Doctor Corigan smiled slightly at Rinoa and instructed her to get in the tube.  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Just some tests," she replied as she watched Rinoa lay down in the tube. The straps and shackles immediately attatched themselves to her. "We'll also be putting you to sleep."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"It's a lot like cryogenic freezing. First, you'll get really sleepy, and fall into a trance. When you do, we'll start running some tests to see if you're really important to our research here. If you are, then we'll continue to study you, but you'll be put in solitary confinement. If not, then you will be put into an eternal sleep, and your body will be frozen. You'll be kept as a spare specimen, and you will remain in that state until you are awakened through our special "awakening" process."  
  
Rinoa raised her head to get a better look at the doctor. "What about Alicia?"  
  
"Ms. Chang? She's very valuable, so don't worry. We already know how to keep her in line."  
  
"Do you believe in hell, Doctor?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"No. I don't belive in heaven, either. But I do belive in eternity. See you when it's over."  
  
A plastic mask was placed over Rinoa's face, and she immediately began to smell gas pouring into her nose and mouth. Her eyes stared up as doctors gathered around her and hooked her up to various machines. Her vision blurred until she could barely make out the top of the tube sliding closed over her. Her eyelids became heavy, and she began to feel as if she were drowning. As she began to fall into an even deeper abyss of unconciousness, one last word, one last image, one final emotion, rose through her body, and washed over her mind. Squall.....  
  
Somewhere down the hall, in another sealed off room, Alicia was crumpled against a wall, her wrists and ankles chained down. A crowd of doctors stood nearby, looking down at her. One of them stepped forward, a vial of bright red liquid in his hand.  
  
"Are you going to be disobedient, again?" he asked.  
  
Alicia shook her head vigorously, her eyes swollen and red, her face twisted with panic.  
  
"I still think you need to be taught a lesson. Attempted escape is very serious. It's not something you can get away with."  
  
"I know, I know!" Alicia sobbed. "I swear, it won't happen again! Just don't make me change... I'm not sure my body can handle it again."  
  
"I think she's learned her lesson," one of the doctors said sympathetically.  
  
"She's not getting off that easy," the head doctor snapped. "These specimens have to learn to behave properly." With that, he walked toward Alicia with the injection vial in his hand. "Look here, Alicia. Fresh blood from the storage locker. Fresh, just like you like it."  
  
"Please, don't make me do it again!" she begged.  
  
"Oh, but it's blood. Just like you used to drink with your victims, you filthy beast! What's wrong, not hungry?"  
  
"You know what's wrong with me!" Alicia screamed. "You're the one responsible!"  
  
"Too bad," the doctor replied before injecting her arm.  
  
For a moment, all was silent, then suddenly Alicia began screaming. She fell to the floor, writhing in agony as the veins beneath her skin began to bulge. Fangs ripped painfully from her gums and her skin began to shift, in an attempt to change, but failed and instead seemed to melt. Her bones gave a loud crunched as her body attempted its natural adaption, but instead they just snapped under the pressure. Blood vessels burst within her arms, the free blood spreading beneath her skin, and her heart pounded in her chest so quickly that it was audible to the rest that were in the room. Wings tore from her back, matted with black blood, but hung limply against her back, the thin bones shattered and deformed, and the leathery skin shredded.  
  
"Let's get out of here," the head doctor said, leading his crew out the door and locking it behind him.  
  
As he walked out the door, he passed by a strange looking pair, in sun glasses and trench coats.  
  
"Do the two of you have clearance to be up here?" he asked.  
  
The female nodded. "Yes. We were sent here to investigate. Now tell us, what was going on in that room?"  
  
"Just some simple research," the doctor answered. "What department are you from?"  
  
"FBI. The government's considering pulling its funding of this place," she replied, flashing her badge.  
  
"Really? I hate to hear that. Well, let me know if there is anything I can do for you."  
  
"There is," she replied. She threw a quick glance down the hall way to make sure the other doctors had gone on, the snapped her fingers.  
  
The muscular, dark-skinned man that stood at her side, grabbed the doctor by the collar and shoved him into the room. Alicia's tattered, and possibly dead form lay still against the wall. The woman gave the body a cold look before turning back to the doctor.  
  
"Tell me where Ms. Heartilly is," she said.  
  
"That's classified," he replied.  
  
"Wrong answer," she said, producing a pistol. "You have one more chance."  
  
"Five doors down on the left. They're putting her through the eternal sleep process as we speak."  
  
"Thank you for the information," she said cooly before pulling the trigger. The gun went off soundlessly and the doctor slumped to the floor.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
"Excuse me, sir. You can't go in there."  
  
"Says who?" Squall asked coldly.  
  
"The upper levels are restricted to traders. It's only for employees."  
  
"Well, I demand to know what I"m putting my money into," Squall replied. "Now let me go."  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't. Now can you please step away from the elevator?"  
  
"Look, I've been doing business here for a long time! I demand to be let through!"  
  
"Sir, if you don't step away from the elevator, I will be forced to throw you out and terminate your account here."  
  
"Fine," Squall replied in a challenging tone. "But I want to see your manager."  
  
"Very well, sir follow me."  
  
The man led Squall down a long corridor filled with various doors. They were made of thick steel and had small windows in the top. Looking through them, he could see people in suits talking with serious looks on their faces. Finally, as they were passing by the men's bathrooms, Squall hooked the man around the neck from behind and pulled him inside, hoping no one else was there. Luckily, there wasn't. Before the guard had time to speak, Squall rammed his head into a porcelin sink, then into the wall.  
  
A few moments later, Squall stepped out of the bathroom alone, wearing a guardsmen uniform, and switched the sign on the door from "open" to "closed for cleaning."  
  
He walked over to the elevator as quickly as he could without breaking into a run. He was careful to keep his head down, just in case anyone might recognise him as the loud, complaining stock bidder. As soon as he was on the elevator, he realized just how difficult finding Rinoa was going to be. There were fifty-nine floors in the building, not including the buisness floor. It would take forever to search each one. There had to be an easier way.  
  
Squall decided to pick a floor and hope for the best. After all, he couldn't just stand there and look clueless. He picked floor number thirty- two and held his breath as the elevator traveled upward.  
  
Just as the elevator was coming to a stop, a siren went off throughout the top fifty-nine floors of the building, followed by an announcement calling for all the guards to report to floor thirty-two, room A12.  
  
As Squall stepped off the elevator, a crowd of guards passed by him, their polished black shoes clicking loudly on the floor as they hurried down the hall. One of them stopped and glared at Squall.  
  
"What are you waiting for? C'mon!"  
  
Squall reluctantly followed behind them, hoping it wouldn't take too much time away from his search for Rinoa.  
  
As they reached the room, they saw that they were the first ones there, which meant they had to go in to investigate. They entered the room slowly, cautiously, with their pistols drawn. After the head investigator saw that there was no threat, he signaled the rest inside, and had them put away their guns.  
  
On the inside, they found two bodies. One they dismissed after a moment's examination. The one that really drew their attention was the man slumped against the wall with a bullet hole in his head.  
  
While the others were busy investigating this corpse, Squall walked closer to the other, deformed body that lay in a shallow pool of blood. To his surprise, it reached a hand out for him, touching his shoes. For a moment he felt as if he'd fallen into some kind of trance. When it was over, the weak, and battered woman beckoned to him with a thin, trembling finger.  
  
After throwing a careful glance over his shoulder, he bent down close to the woman, feeling as if he could trust her.  
  
"Five doors and to the left," she whispered.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"Rinoa. Hurry, before it's too late. And... one last thing..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Treat her well. She's a good person."  
  
Squall nodded, and was about to try and slipped out the door, though he was curious to find out more about this person that had given him the answer. How did she know Rinoa, and how did she know that was what he was looking for?  
  
He found the right door, and walked in, suddenly finding himself in the middle of an ugly situation.  
  
Half a dozen or more doctors were sprawled out on the floor, dead. Two other remain alive, and were working furiously at their computers, in a terrified panic. Two people, a man and a woman in a trench coat held machine guns in their hands, and had them pointed at the two remaining doctors.  
  
The woman swung her head around to glare at the sudden intruder. "Guard!" she hissed.  
  
"No, I'm not a guard! I...I..."  
  
"Leonhart?" the man asked as he turned around.  
  
Squall squinted slightly and realized it was Raijin and Fujin, who had gone through FBI training with him.  
  
"So the FBI really is working under-cover in this place," Fujin commented. "Well, you can either help us, or die."  
  
"I guess I'll help you then," Squall replied sarcastically. "Why are you here, if not for the FBI?"  
  
"We're here under your sister's orders. She wants this Rinoa chick dead," Raijin replied. "She's in that tube thing there, and these two are trying to get her out," he gestured toward the doctors.  
  
Squall struggled to keep his composure. "Is that so?" He waited until the two had turned back around, watching the two doctors, and drew his pistol, quickly shooting them both dead.  
  
He then raised his pistol to the two doctors who, thinking they should take the brief moment of freedom, were about to press the alarm.  
  
"I don't think so," Squall said. "You keep working. Get her out NOW!"  
  
After a few more moments of vigorous working, the top of the tube slid open and Squall ran to it, seeing Rinoa asleep inside. The straps came undone, and he lifted her up, preparing to take off with her, when a hord of guards suddenly rushed into the room. The alarm had been set off.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" one of them asked.  
  
"I'm... I was just taking this patient in for treatment," he lied.  
  
"Bull shit!" the lead guard spat. He was about to shoot Squall dead when there came a strangled roar from behind him. In one swift blow from a giant claw, half of the guards went flying across the room, followed by the other half. A creature, looking something like an over-grown demon crashed through the door and walked over to the pile of fallen guards.  
  
"It looks like your experiment on me to make an improved demon wasn't a complete failure after all," a thick, altered female voice boomed.  
  
Squall had raised his pistol, and was about to shoot, when the creature threw up its hands in submission and said, "Don't shoot me. I'm trying to help you."  
  
"Who are you?" Squall asked.  
  
The monster pitched over suddenly, and its scaley, mud-colored skin melted away, revealing a diminished, human figure.  
  
"My name is Alicia. I'm a fellow inmate of Rinoa's, and a friend of hers in a way. Now, lets go before we get caught. I'm not sure if I can do that again."  
  
Squall nodded, feeling he had no choice but to believe what this person said. They quickly ran down the hall, Squall still carrying Rinoa over his shoulder, and jumped in the elevator.  
  
"What are we going to d now? They must have the entrance sealed off," Squall said.  
  
Alicia punched the button for the basement floor. "I've got an idea."  
  
They arrived at the basement floor in a few short moments. It was a small area, with little space, since most of it was filled with switches, generators, and control boxes. The lighting was dim, and the air was still, as if no one had been down there in a long time.  
  
"What are we going to do here?" Squall asked.  
  
Alicia inspected the various machinery and opened one of the panels on the control boxes. She played around with the wires a moment then said, "Brace yourself. There's going to be a pretty big explosion towards the back. And get ready to run. The explosion will distract them. They'll come down the elevators, looking for us, but we'll be running up the stair case and out through the front."  
  
"What about the gates?"  
  
"I'll take care of those, too. When the time is right. Now, get by the staircase and get ready."  
  
Squall did as he was told and looked back to see Alicia twisting and connecting various wires again. For a moment, nothing happened, then suddenly, there was a loud rumbling, followed by a boom. The room shook uncontrollably for a moment, then became calm again.  
  
"Just a moment," Alicia said.  
  
The sound of the elevator decending filled the small room and Alicia quickly signaled him to go before taking her place in front of another control panel and beginning to work. He began running as fast as he could up the stairs, careful of Rinoa, who was beginning to wake up.  
  
He paused for a moment and looked behind him, expecting Alicia to be there. She was no where to be seen. He stopped dead in his tracks, unsure if he should go on, if he should go back for her. At that moment, Alicia came running up the stairs.  
  
"What the hell are you waiting for?!" she demanded. "Move!"  
  
They continued running up the stair case until they came to an old, mostly unused door. Squall kicked it open and continued through it, suddenly finding himself in the middle of the lobby.  
  
None of the panicked people noticed them as they ran through the door and into the parking lot.  
  
"This way!" Squall shouted as he ran for the Jaguar he had stolen earlier. He hadn't bothered to lock it, thinking he might need to get in and out of it quickly. He laid the half-conconcious Rinoa in the back seat and jumped in the driver's seat while Alicia got in the passenger's side.  
  
Squall produced the key from his pants pocket and started the car up before taking off through the open gates, pushing a hundred as he did so.  
  
  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::  
  
11:03 A.M.  
  
They made it to the train station only a few minutes later. By this time, Rinoa had woken up, and was sitting straight up in the back seat.  
  
"Who are you?! Where are you taking me?!"  
  
Squall slammed on the brakes in the middle of the mostly empty- parking lot, and jumped out of the car before tearing the back door open.  
  
She sat there for a moment, her mouth open in shock as she stared into his eyes, her own filled with tears. Finally, she snapped out of her trance and jumped forward, into his open arms.  
  
"I thought you were dead," she said softly. "I thought I was dead."  
  
"Well, its all over, now. I got you out of there. Everything's fine," he said in a soothing voice.  
  
"Out? What about Alicia! Oh no, she's still in that horrible place!" Rinoa exclaimed.  
  
Alicia stepped out of the car, grinning widely. "What, you think Squall managed to rescue you all by himself?"  
  
Rinoa laughed, relieved. "We're all alright. I can't believe it."  
  
"For now," Squall said. "Let's get out of here."  
  
He wrapped his arm around Rinoa's waist and walked with her inside the train station, Alicia smiling as she followed behind the happy couple. Inside sat the owner of the Jaguar, the young business man, as he stared out the window.  
  
"Hey!" Squall called, catching his attention. "Thanks for the ride," he said, tossing him the keys.  
  
They purchased a ticket to Balamb, then, and boarded the train. Alicia went to the dining car, where they were serving dinner, and Squall and Rinoa went to their private room to spend some time alone together.  
  
As Alicia came to one of the doors, leading to another car, she noticed it was locked. Casting a quick look over her shoulder, she used her abilities to unlock it, and quickly stepped inside.  
  
On the other side of the door the car was illumintaed in a dim red light. The air inside was thick and cold, and a loud, obnoxious humming caused the floor to vibrate. Upon further inspection, she saw that the room was filled with nothing other than large, metal boxes with the "Southern Esthar Scientific Research Institute" symbol on the sides, along with a stamp that said "bound for Balalmb".  
  
  
  
"I missed you so much," Squall admitted as he dropped to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist, laying his head on her stomach.  
  
Rinoa was shocked by this sudden display of emotion, but gently cradled his head in her arms and bent over him, so that her long raven locks mingled with his silken brown. "I missed you, too," she replied. "I... I was certain you were dead...."  
  
"I was," he answered, looking up at her. He smiled slightly at the look of confusion on her face. "I was brought back."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I don't supose you've ever seen a little girl with long, brown curls and eyes just like mine in a white dress with wings drawn on the back?" he said.  
  
"Yes, I've seen her. She gave me this necklace," Rinoa said, pulling the locket out from under her shirt.  
  
"Well, I've met her a few times. This last time, I was in the morgue. I suddenly opened my eyes, and there she was, smiling at me. She had my eyes and your smile. Your face. She told me that I wasn't supposed to die. That Selphie ruined everything, so she came to bring me back. And she said... she said she was our daughter."  
  
Rinoa dropped to her knees in front of Squall. "Our... daughter?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah... she was the sweetest thing... you're not... dissapointed, are you? That we had a child?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, of course not. I just I don't know how you really feel about me. I mean, if we do have a child, will you stay with us?"  
  
He looked at her then with an unusual amount of emotion in his eyes. "I think I love you. Enough to turn my back on everything I've ever known," he said in a soft, gentle voice. "And I would die before I would part with you or our child."  
  
She threw her arms around his neck then said, "I think I love you, too. But what do we do now?"  
  
"Ellone will never leave us alone if we run. It's either us or her. We've got to fight."  
  
She nodded. "But what if...?  
  
He put a finger to her lips. "Its her or us. We have to try. Now lets enjoy this time we have alone. We've got a lot we have to do when we get to Balamb."  
  
::::::::::::::::::::::::: 


	13. The Sickness

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
  
Consuming, confusing  
  
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending  
  
It's haunting  
  
How I can't seem...to find myself again, these walls are closing in  
  
I've felt this way before  
  
So insecure  
  
--- Linkin Park "Crawling"  
  
Chapter 13  
  
11:10 A.M.  
  
Ellone smiled down at the scenery below the balcony of her brother's apartment, the new morning light glistening off the pavement. When she thought of him, and the ways she had wronged him, she felt a slight twinge of guilt. But did she regret it? No. Not in the least. It would only be a matter of hours before she took over the role as ruler of her people, and made this town, which was originally theirs, her base. She wouldn't stop with Balamb, of course. She was already thinking up another plan, so that another location would fall into her hands.  
  
At this moment, in the midst of her thoughts and glorious, power driven dreams, the phone rang, shattering her lovely reverie.  
  
"What is it?" she snapped, angered at the sudden interruption.  
  
"Fujin and Raijin failed their mission. Rinoa and Squall both still live. They escaped from the facility. Along with your mother, who's been there for several years," a voice said.  
  
"Fuck!" she growled. "Where are they?! Why aren't they telling me this themselves?"  
  
"They're dead. I've interrogated two witnesses that saw Squall shoot them as he was trying to rescue Rinoa."  
  
"You've disposed of the witnesses, right?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Good. Now where is my bastard brother and that rotten angel of his? And my long lost mother?"  
  
"Somewhere between Esthar and Balamb. They could be on their way to Balamb, on a train, or hiding in Deling City."  
  
"Very well. Now, I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a mission of great importance, and I expect you to fullfill it, flawlessly. This will be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Are you ready?"  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
12:34 P.M.  
  
Sun streaked through the the narrow slits in the drawn blinds, the beams shaking and flickering as the train made its steady journey down the tracks. People all over the train went about their business, most completely unaware of the not-so-ordinary couple kissing ravenously on their bed, the blank white sheets wrapped loosely around their bodies, the two no longer so shy with one another.  
  
"You know, I wonder," Rinoa said between heated kisses while running her hand down the front of his naked body. "Being that you're a demon and everything... do you think it might've enhanced you? I mean, do you humans get that big?"  
  
"Rinoa!" he exclaimed, whether from embarresment or shock at the sudden placement of her hand, she couldn't tell.  
  
She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down for another kiss. She felt his muscles tense, and smiled up at him.  
  
"Again?" she asked.  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Good. I was getting impatient," she said, pulling him on top of her.  
  
As they pressed closer, an ear-splitting shriek rose from the tracks and traveled up through the train, causing it to shutter as it jerked to a sudden stop. The two lovers parted, looking around in confusion.  
  
"Sorry for the inconvenience, travelers, but it seems we're having some problems. We don't know what it is, or how long it will take to fix it, so everyone must evacuate the train, immediately. Thankfully, we've stopped at the Deling City train station, so you can all find a hotel or something to stay at. We should hopefully be leaving out by 9:00 A.M. tomorrow morning, so make sure to be here. Now please, gather your items and exit the train."  
  
"What kind of shit is this?" Squall grumbled as he stood from the bed and reached for his boxers and jeans.  
  
Rinoa studied him for a moment as she pulled on her own clothes and realized what he was so grumpy about. "I promise I'll make it up to you," she said, pulling his white undershirt over her head and tying the arms of her white jumpsuit behind her back.  
  
He grinned at her for a moment then said, "Hey, that's my shirt! Who said you could wear it?"  
  
She grinned. "You don't walk me walking around topless do you?"  
  
He put his hand on his hip and glared at her for a moment, trying to be serious, before giving in to her playful gaze. "Well," he said. "At least I still have my over-shirt. Hope it isn't cold out."  
  
They walked out of the room, pausing a moment to let the crowd pass by, then continued walking. Alicia came out of her room then, which had been located next to theirs, and fell into pace next to Rinoa.  
  
"Did you have a nice nap?" Rinoa asked.  
  
Alicia glared at her grumpily. "You two are like damn rabits!" she hissed in Rinoa's ear.  
  
Rinoa had to struggle to stifle her giggle as they stepped off the train and went into the crowded station.  
  
"Where do we go now?" Rinoa yelled over the loud noise of the crowd.  
  
"Lets figure it out once we get out of here!" Squall replied.  
  
When they reached the bustling street outside, they found themselves completely lost. The city was huge stretching out far into the horizon. Skyscrapers towered over them like dominating giants, their tops covered in mist, and smoke that poured out from numerous buildings. Expensive cars raced down the street, after sliding down the ramps of various carports, followed by small, broken down cars that rolled slowly and shakily by. The heavy beats of music flooded out into the street through the open doors of small clothes shops and restruants. People walked hurriedly across the street, barely glancing at the oncoming cars so long as they were sure they would make it across in time. Strange sculptures and and statues marked the ends of some streets, and decorated the parks, where people in ragged clothes sat on the benches, their few remaining belongings in a plastic bag at their side. A fountain gushed water at the front of an elegantly designed business building, adding yet another style to the astounding variety of arcitecture.  
  
"Wow..." Squall murmered, taking it all in.  
  
"Welcome to Deling City," Rinoa said with a sigh.  
  
"You've been here before?" Squall asked.  
  
"I used to live here, before I was moved to Balamb."  
  
"Then you know where to go?" Alicia said.  
  
Rinoa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I lived here for several years, but I've only been to the train station a few times. Not enough to remember where to go from here. Hell, we don't even know where we want to go, do we?"  
  
Squall shook his head. "I guess we should find a hotel or something. After all, they said it could be before nine a.m. before the train leaves for Balamb again."  
  
"Nine a.am.," Rinoa repeated. "What about Ellone? She plans to claim Balamb at midnight."  
  
He nodded in thought. "Yes, she could always tell her comrades that you're dead and out of the way, so they can commence with the ceromony. In the mean time, she'll probably send some of her most trusted allies out to find you so that you don't come back and take them out of power. She might think you're dead right now. Fujin and Raijin never reported to her, after all."  
  
"Well, whatever happens, we can't just stand here. There's a bus stop over there. Let's take the bus and I'll see if I find my way around to somewhere familiar."  
  
They crossed the street, passing right in front of a halted car, and waited impatiently for the bus to come. When it finally did come, they found themselves squished in between a bunch of strangers, and were barely able to see out the window.  
  
Squall stood there, hanging onto to on of the chrome rings that hung from the ceiling since all the seats were full. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and he turned around, thinking it might have been Alicia, since she was somewhere behind him.  
  
What he saw instead was a man in a long blue trench coat with thin, short, greasy gray hair that hung in his eyes and poked out from the sides of his head. He was carrying a battered brown brief case at his side, and his eyes were red and blot shot.  
  
"Hey man," he said with a sly grin. "You need a hook up?" he asked, opening his brief case just a crack, allowing Squall a peak at several large bags of green leaves.  
  
"No thanks," Squall replied.  
  
He shrugged, "Suit yourself."  
  
With that he turned around to face Alicia and threw open his trech coat, laughing. Alicia frowned, shook her head and said, "On a scale of one to ten, I give it a two. Now put that thing away, or risk losing it."  
  
"You actually used to lived here?" Squall asked of Rinoa, who stood directly in front of him.  
  
She laughed softly, having watched the odd scene. "Yes, but it's not all bad, you know. And I've never had a guy come up and flash me, if that's what you're worried about."  
  
"Good," he said, a slightly playful edge creeping into his voice. "It might have burned your virgin eyes."  
  
She elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "Yours didin't."  
  
He smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was rudely interrupted when Alicia smacked Squall in the back with a cane she had borrowed from an old lady beside her.  
  
After handing it back with a polite thank you, she said to the agitated man, "Can't you two wait until we get to the hotel room at least?"  
  
Rinoa laughed again, and leaned her head into Squall's chest, staring out of the window at the scenery flashing by.  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
"This was the best place we could get?" Squall asked, looking around the small, dark room. There was a twin sized bed pushed up against the wall with faded sheets and a comforter. There was a wooden table on the other side of the room with two broken down chairs and a lamp. In the wall opposite the bed was a door which led to another room, exactly like that one, with a bathroom further down the wall.  
  
Rinoa shrugged, "Me and Alicia don't have any gil. You barely had enough for us to get this room and eat tonight."  
  
"Yeah, why didn't you bring more gil with you?" Alicia asked, knowing it would get on his nerves.  
  
"You're lucky this gil just happened to be in my pants pocket when I left. I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I was too worried," he finished quietly, looking shyly up at Rinoa, who smiled sweetly at him.  
  
Alicia looked back and forth between the two, watching with slight amusment as they exchanged with their eyes the feelings too sacred to be spoken yet.  
  
"Are you two going to blink anytime soon?" Alicia asked, a bit concerned when they continued to stare.  
  
This comment effectively ruined their moment. They both looked away, suddenly taking interest in the cheap carpeting, or peeling wall paper. Alicia shook her head, making a mental note to talk to them each in private when she had the chance.  
  
"So, what are we going to do today? We can't go to sleep so soon," Alicia pointed out.  
  
"Well, there are some things we need to work out," Squall said, seating himself on the edge of the bed. "We don't know where we're going, or what we're doing. You don't rush into battle without a plan. We have to plan ahead."  
  
"What's there to discuss?" Rinoa asked, sitting beside him.  
  
Alicia sat down against the wall across from the bed. "We have to know exactly what we want to do when we get there. What do we want for ourselves? What do we need for the people? What are we willing to sacrifice?"  
  
"Are you in on this?" Squall asked. When she nodded he inquired, "Why? Why do you want to go through this? It's not even your problem."  
  
"Do you know who I am?" Alicia said in a dark voice.  
  
He shook his head. "All I know is that your name is Alicia and that you helped Rinoa and me to escape. Which is why I don't understand you wanting to go with us. It would be safer for you to stay here. It's not your problem."  
  
"My name is Alicia Chang. I am the mother of the very woman you intend to kill."  
  
Squall's eyes narrowed immediately. "Ellone's mother.... You're the same as her."  
  
"The same?" Alicia repeated. "You're the same as me."  
  
He shook his head. "I'm nothing like you. You.... your daughter.... she's caused so much trouble. So much pain. Yet here you are, claiming that you want to kill her. Your own child."  
  
"Yes," she replied, her eyes tearing. "There's nothing left to do."  
  
"You think your daughter is evil, being what she is, yet you think you're not, being the same as she?" he asked.  
  
"Half of you is the same as me. Half of you is just human. Nothing in you is the same as Rinoa, yet still want to be with her? You still go through hell to protect her?" Squall looked away and sighed, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. "I admit, I used to be a horrible person. I had an affair with your father, I killed you mother.... You've got reason to hate me. But I want to help you, honestly. I've had several years to think about all that I've done. I want to redeem myself. In the same way that your life depends on your redemption, so does mine."  
  
He said nothing for several moments, allowing all the new information to sink in. Finally he turned to Rinoa, who sat next to him with a worried expression on her face, and asked, "What do you think? Do you trust her?"  
  
"Squall, this isn't my decision," she replied.  
  
"Just tell me. Do you trust her? Do you think she's changed?"  
  
She nodded slowly, "I think so. I think she's proven herself."  
  
Squall turned to look at Alicia again. "If Rinoa trusts you.... that's good enough for me. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm weary of you, knowing what I know now."  
  
"I understand," she replied. "Thank you."  
  
"Well, if all three of us are in this.... What exactly is the plan?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"We have to kill Ellone. I'm not sure how. We can't plan this exactly, since we don't know how this will go down," Squall said. "But we've got to kill Ellone. Probably the rest of them as well."  
  
"Genocide..." Rinoa said with a look of disgust on her face.  
  
"It's survival. It's us or them," he said.  
  
"And after this is over? If we do survive? What happens then?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," he said softly. "Let's just concentrate on getting out alive."  
  
Rinoa nodded sadly. "Yeah. We'll worry about that later."  
  
"Well, I think we've settled enough for now," Alicia said quietly. "I'm going to my room for a nap."  
  
"Again?" Rinoa asked, attempting to lighten the mood.  
  
Alicia nodded. "I'm old. I need a lot of sleep."  
  
Rinoa nodded and watched reluctantly as she closed the door, leaving her alone with Squall.  
  
She heaved a sigh and turned her gaze toward the floor, turning her back on Squall.  
  
"What is it?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"I want to know now," Rinoa said.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"I want to know what's going to happen will all of this is done. Are you going to go off and try to live a normal life? I need to know.... " her voice trailed off, leaving her question unspoken.  
  
"You want to know if I'll still want to be with you, then?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Alright then. I'll give you my honest answer."  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
Alicia sighed as she flopped down on her bed in her own small, empty room. She stared at the blank white ceiling and stained floral wall paper as she wondered what Rinoa and Squall were talking about. After a moment of thinking, she stood and walked over to the back window of her room, while rubbing the her nose, which was suddenly twitching violently.  
  
As she looked out over the concrete maze of littered alley ways, her nose still twitching, she heard a voice call to her from beyond the window.  
  
"Alicia. Come and find me. Come and find me if you want to save your friends."  
  
She suddenly tore open the windows and jumped out, to a patch of scraggly grass growing in a crack in the concrete. The alley in front of her was covered in mud from a previous thunder storm, and as she studied it, she noticed a set of foot prints leading away from the window and around the back of another building. She immediately began to follow them, without contemplating it for a second.  
  
She followed the foot prints around the back of the building and into an abandoned apartment building. When she had reached the top floor, finding herself in large, stuffy room, where small streaks of sun light streaked through the wooden planks that boarded up the windows, she discovered that the foot prints had ended. She whirled around the room, looking for the threat, but finding none. That is, until her eyes fell on a busted mirror propped up against the wall. She ran at it as fast as she could, shrieking as she did so, and clawed at the shards of glass until her fingers bled.  
  
"I will destroy you," she said in a thick, hoarse voice as she picked up one of the peices of glass and thrusted into her own skin, letting out a scream when it made contact.  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
"Alright then" Rinoa said, trying to retain her calmness. "Tell me the truth. Tell me your honest answer."  
  
He leaned close to her, studing her eyes for several moments before saying, "I'm going to be there with you. Now, and afterwards. I'll be with you. I don't think I could stand to have it otherwise. We've been through so much, suffered so much. Mostly because we wanted to be together, right? You wanted me, and I wanted you?"  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Yes. We've struggled for each other."  
  
"Then it doesn't make much sense for me to let you go when I finally have you. So after this is over, you and I.... we'll find some place to live, and raise our daughter."  
  
"Like normal people?" she asked.  
  
He shook his head. "No. Not like normal people. Like us. You have to understand, we aren't normal, we never will be. Our child won't be. She'll be part angel, part demon, and part human. A constant reminder of what we are. Every time we make love, we'll change into our other forms. We can never be normal. Knowing that, do you still want this kind of life?"  
  
She nodded. "Yes. I don't want to be different. I just want to be free to do things differently. To raise a family, to have a home. That's all I ask."  
  
He smiled and pulled her into his embrace. "I can't promise you all of that. Life is unpredictable. But I will try my best to get that for you. And I will promise you one thing. I'll be with you until I die."  
  
As they embraced each other in that warm moment, there ensued a peircing scream that roared through the pits of their stomachs, and reverbrated through their souls. Without question, they knew who it was. There was no other way possible for them to have heard it, when it seemed to come from such a great distance.  
  
They looked into each others eyes for a brief moment before storming into Alicia's room, only to find that it was empty.  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
  
"Are you sure this is where you heard the commotion coming from?"  
  
"Yes. I'm positive."  
  
The tall, broad-shouldered man in the black suit turned to look at the shorter, plump man that had given him directions. "Good. You won't tell anyone?"  
  
He shook his head, the dim light reflecting slightly off his bare scalp. "I won't tell a soul."  
  
The first man turned to his smaller, but equally intimidating companion and said, "Do you think we should trust him?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied. "He looks like a rat to me."  
  
"N-no, I swear I'm not!" their informant stammered.  
  
"Get going!" the first man growled.  
  
The small man started to walk out the building, but didn't make it far before a bullet peirced his heart, sending him to the ground.  
  
"You know, I think you're getting lazy," one said to the owner of the smoking pistol. "Do you kill your meals like that too?"  
  
"Of course not. But if I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to go through the trouble of severing it, and gutting it. Now lets go. If we don't get this out of the way beforew midnight, our ass is grass."  
  
The two men traveled up to the ninth floor, which the top floor had caved in on. They were picking through the rubble when a putrid scent assualted their nostrils, leading them to the proper location. They shoved some debris away from the spot, until they had uncovered a battered femal body. She layed there, breathing but unconcious, with shards of glass surrounding her. Blood flowed from several wounds, and a thick, reddish black liquid poured from her mouth. It smoked as it ate a hole through the floor, like acid, and pooled on the ground, swirling with its reeking odor.  
  
"This is the mother. What do you think happened to her?"  
  
"I don't know, but she's still alive. We'll use her to our advantage."  
  
Several minutes later, when Alicia's eyes fluttered open, she was immediately met with the sight of a pistol in her face. She followed the pistol up to the hand, up the arm, and over the shoulder, before finally locking gazes with a pair of cold green eyes.  
  
"And you are?" she asked calmly.  
  
"Never mind that. Get up, Alicia, and take us to your friends," he said.  
  
Alicia began to tremble violently as a scowl became evident on her face. "Never call me by that name!"  
  
"If you're not Alicia, then who are you?"  
  
"I have no name," she responded in a dark, low, and gravely voice. "Names are just labels that I have no need for. Never compare me to that weak fool Alicia!"  
  
"Very well," the man replied, arching an eyebrow. "Can you lead us to your.... I mean, Alicia's friends?"  
  
"What's in it for me?" she asked.  
  
"Anything you want. Our ruler will see to it that you have it, I promise."  
  
"And if I don't?"  
  
"We'll shoot you, right here and now."  
  
She was silent for a moment, smirking all the while, before saying, "I suppose I'll humor you, today. I'll take you to them. Follow me."  
  
They quickly reached Alicia's bedroom window, and climbed through. Standing there, in the middle of her room, were Squall and Rinoa, with worried looks etched on their faces.  
  
"Alicia, are you alright? Who are these people?" Rinoa asked.  
  
She started to raise a hand and slap Rinoa across the face, but she suddenly doubled over in pain, her veins swelling with blood until they were all visible through the skin. She screamed and clutched at her head, her fingers ripping at her short brown hair. She opened her mouth, and more of the stinking liquid rushed from her mouth in a short stream before burning into the capet. She looked up then, her eyes blood shot and remorseful as she struggled to speak.  
  
"I didn't mean to... betray you. Something's happening to me.... I don't know.... I'm sorry."  
  
At that moment, one of the men hit her over the head with his gun, knocking her unconcious, before turning to Rinoa and Squall, who stood there in awe.  
  
"Well, Ms. Heartilly, Mr. Leonhart. It's been a pleasure meeting you. But I'm afraid we have no time to chat. Ellone sends her deepest apologies that she could not be here to witness your end, but I promised to tell her all about. Well, Goodbye, Ms. Heartilly, and Mr. Leonhart."  
  
The man raised his pistol, grinning, and pulled the trigger, at the exact same moment that Alicia awoke and hit him as hard as she could in the back of the knee, causing him to lose his balance, as well as his aim. The bullet went harmlessly through the ceiling.  
  
Alicia stumbled to her feet, still weak from the recent events, and urged Rinoa and Squall to run with her, into their room and out through their front door, dodging bullets the entire time.  
  
"What do we do? We can't lose them!" Rinoa pointed out as they ran across the street, barely avoiding an oncoming car.  
  
"We've got to try!" Squall said. "Rinoa, you know your way around. Can't you show us through some alleys or back roads that we can lose them in?"  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, follow me. But where do we go? We can't stay here, they'll find us eventually."  
  
"Head for the train station," Squall replied.  
  
Rinoa led them through a series of narrow alleys and small streets until they reached the train station.  
  
There, on two sperate tracks, sat two seperate trains. One was the train bound for Balamb, which wasn't yet repaired judging from its emptiness. The other was a train transporting goods to Dollet. They jumpeed in one of the open cars as it slowly began its journey down the track.  
  
The car they were in was crowded with large steel boxes and cooling devices. Just like the boxes that had been in the other train.  
  
Alicia leaned against one box, looking out the door toward the destination, and Squall and Rinoa sat beside each other against another box, facing the train station as the distance grew between it and them.  
  
All was silent for a moment before finally Rinoa asked, "What happened Alicia? You seemed sick or something. Are you alright?"  
  
Alicia quietly shook her head. "Something's very wrong with me. I just don't know what it is. I just don't know....."  
  
2: 27 P.M.  
  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 


	14. Lost in the Memory

Disclaimer: I don't own "Losing my Grip" by Hoobastank  
  
A/N: Well, what do you know? The last chapter kinda crept up on me. So, here it is. The last installment of this fic. Also, I've redone all the chapters, so they're better than they were before (I hope). Enjoy the last chapter!  
  
"Human psychology, and everything in the world, is made up of two opposite facets, two sides of the same coin. After all, humanity is always living side by side with the "pair" called "life and death." --- Yuu Watase  
  
Chapter 14  
  
The house was silent, save the youthful laughter that floated through the air. In the spacious kitchen, sat a young girl on the floor, her clear eyes shining like the cloudless sky during daytime, and her tiny pink lips curved upward in a wide smile. Next to her sat an older lady, old enough to be her grandmother, who smiled along with her as the two played together.  
  
The younger of the two studied her companions face a moment before pointing out, "Aunt Alicia, you're face is twitching again."  
  
The older playmate emitted a sigh before climbing to her feet and bending down to look the little girl in the eye.  
  
"You know the drill," she said. "I'm going to my room for awhile, sweetie. You'll just have to play by yourself for a little bit. And remember, no matter what I do or say, don't open the door."  
  
She nodded. "I know. Do you think you'll get better sometime soon?"  
  
"I don't know. I really don't know."  
  
That said, Alicia straighted up and walked into the nearby room, closing the door behind her. The door gave a small click as it was locked, and for a brief moment, all was silent. Ethereal sat there, motionless in the same spot Alicia had left her, as she watched the door and held her breath, hoping the rein of mental deterioration that so often took control of her only guardian had ended. Hoping the sickness had run its course.  
  
The calm was shattered with a painful scream from behind the door, and the sound of glass breaking forcefully against the wall. Shrieks of profanity, broken only by tortured sobs, poured through the walls as objects collided violently with each other. Wickedly curved claws screeched unbearably down the barrier that seperated the two, as she peeled at the wall paper and left deep indentions in the wood, uncaring of the splinters that tunneled into her skin.  
  
Ethereal listened for only an instant more before walking, head hung down, over to the small oak table where a bunch of wild flowers lay. She gathered them up in her arms and walked out the door with them, heading for the two tombstones outlined in the fading light of the sun.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
3:35 P.M.  
  
The three tired travelers had remained silent throughout most of the trip, the mood having been to solemn to lighten with petty conversation. Squall sat against one of the tall metal crates with Rinoa in his lap, and their hands entwined, both lost in their own dreams of the future. Alicia sat opposite of them, wondering over this feeling that crept so suddenly upon her. This feeling that something dark, and dangerous lay dormant at her core, waiting in its rage-filled state until the slightest provaction would free it from its forced confinement.  
  
Alicia was distracted from her thoughts when she looked up and noticed the seal of the Estharian Institute. She hadn't paid much attention to the contents of the car up until then, and now that she did, it was like an electric shock going through her veins. They were the same ones from the first train. They must've been transfered after the first train had trouble.  
  
"These boxes are from Esthar," she said out of the blue.  
  
"What?" Rinoa asked, broken abruptly from her dreamy meditation.  
  
"These boxes. I saw them in a locked room on the train from Esthar. They're from the medical institution."  
  
Rinoa's face darkened. "What do you think is in there?"  
  
"I don't know. I've been in that place for a long time, and I've never heard of them shipping anything. The only thing that ever got out of that facility were stock shares, and the occasional auctioned test results."  
  
"Whatever's in here has to stay cold," Squall pointed out. "It's probably some kind of chemical."  
  
Alicia nodded. "We need to track it, reguardless."  
  
"It's not our problem," Squall argued.  
  
"It might become our problem," Alicia replied. "This stuff is probably dangerous, and it's headed for Balamb. We don't want it to fall into the wrong hands."  
  
At that moment, four guards marched into the car for their routine inspection. Before any of the three had a chance to move, they were spotted, and the guards drew their guns.  
  
"Wait, don't shoot us!" Rinoa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in surrender. "We just needed a ride to Balamb."  
  
"There's no excuse for the three of you being in here. This is a restricted area."  
  
"Then maybe you shouldn't leave the door open," Alicia mumbled.  
  
"You two go check and see if anything's missing, or messed up," the head guard ordered over his shoulder.  
  
Once the other two guards dissapeared, the remaining pair nodded to each other then stepped closer to the trio as they were backed closer and closer toward the opened door.  
  
"I don't know what the three of you think you're doing here, but no one gets away with this kind of thing on our shift."  
  
"Oh, but you must not know who we are," Rinoa said.  
  
"I don't really care."  
  
"We're escapees from Esthar. If you let us live, and turn us in, they'll give you a good reward," she said.  
  
"I don't trust you."  
  
"Fine then. Shoot us and hate yourselves for it latter. Yeah, I'm sure you have an interesting story lined up for why you shot three unarmed stow-aways."  
  
Before either one of them could answer, the other two guards returned. "Everything's fine... Hey, what are you doing! They're unarmed. You know we'll get fired for that!"  
  
The other two backed away from the door slowly, so it would not appear that they had murderous intent. Squall took the oppurtunity to grab Rinoa's hand and pull her behind one of the large steel crates. Alicia, taking the hint, ran the other way, and lost herself within the maze of cold chrome. Immediately, the guards split up to look for them.  
  
Alicia dodged past the officers and ran out into the open for a split second, just long enough to slide the door shut, so that there was hardly any light. She knew that she, Squall and Rinoa would be able to see reguardless. Squall backed Rinoa up into a cornor and squinted into the darkness, waiting for his vision to clear. Just as he was able to see, he noticed a guard heading right for him, shining a flash light to illuminate his path. Squall rammed him into the nearby crate and watched as he fell to the ground unconcious.  
  
Alicia stuck her newly protruding claws into the smooth metal in front of her and quickly scaled the side, until she was crouched comfortably on the top. Looking up at the nearby ceiling, she noticed the hooked ends of several chains dangling in the air. They were usually used to fasten the boxes in place, but this one in particular was held steady by a length of stronger chain that wrapped around it. Upon looking down, she noticed one of the men was about to pass her. She grabbed hold of the nearest hook, and flung it over the side. The chain unraveled and the heavy hook slammed into his head with devastating speed, and a sickening crack as it demolished his skull.  
  
As she was jumping down from her place atop the crate, she heard the deafening sound of a gun firing at close range. It went off twice, and then all that was left was silence. She slowly walked over to the door and slid it open again, allowing the light to flood inside.  
  
She heard footsteps approaching from the otherside and drew in a sharp breath, worried about who she would have to face. She nearly collapsed in relief when she saw it was only Squall and Rinoa.  
  
"You worried me," she sighed.  
  
"Yeah. But we made it. Rinoa took down the other two guards," Squall said. "It looks like we're coming up on Balamb. We need to get rid of the evidence, and we'll use their uniforms as a disguise."  
  
"And then what?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Then we try to see this thing through," he replied.  
  
"God help us."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
4:07 P.M.  
  
It hadn't been a difficult task to convince the authorities of the Balamb train station that they were the guards appointed to take the valued cargo to its intended destination. After all, even after the boxes were unloaded, the dead or unconcious bodies of the original guards were no where to be found.  
  
They were told to deliver the mysterious boxes to the Balamb Medical Lab, where the lab's staff would take over. They each drove in an over- sized truck to the back of the small, white-washed building, where several men in work clothes, and a woman in a white coat with a clip board waited. The three jumped out of the trucks, and headed over to the stern-faced woman.  
  
"You three can just wait in your trucks until they've finished unloading. Then you can leave," she said upon their approach.  
  
"We were told to see that this shipment gets to the right place," Squall explained.  
  
She frowned at the group and shook her head, causing her long pony- tail of auburn hair to swish back and forth behind her. "I cannot allow you permission to go in there. Its a restricted area."  
  
"You don't understand," Squall persisted. "We have special orders."  
  
The woman studied him for a moment, then Alicia, but frowned as she looked upon Rinoa. "Well, I somehow feel that this will be going against my better judgement, but I'll allow you entry. Go through that door there, and help them unload the individual containers. Here's a list of rooms that you're supposed to take them to," she said, handing them a peice of paper with room numbers scribbled on it.  
  
As Squall led the group away, she watched them leaving, her senses screaming at her that there was something she just wasn't getting. A light breeze blew, and a familiar scent caught her attention. She took a few steps forward, and could vaguely hear the remainder of the angelic interruption upon the underwordly rythm she knew so well. Taking notice that the three had already dissapeared into the loading dock, she shook her head slowly, knowing that if word got out about her letting an imposter in, it would mean her destruction. Instead she just stood there in place, deciding, with a cruel little smile distorting her stony features, that someone else would take the blame this time.  
  
Meanwhile, Rinoa and the others stood in front of one of the huge boxes as it was being pried open. Puffs of freezing air escaped as one side of the box fell open. The inside vibrated violently, and was flooded with bright green light that illuminated the numerous four foot boxes that were stacked inside.  
  
They pulled them out, one by one, and loaded them onto carts so people could deliver them to one of the assigned rooms. As Squall, Rinoa, and Alicia were pushing their carts away from the loading ramp they decided they would have to split up, deliver the containers, and if the chance presented itself, they were to study the contents of it.  
  
Alicia was the first to find an unoccupied lab, and hastily pushed her load inside, knowing time was short. She pulled at the container's tight lid until, at last, it popped off to reveal small, closely packed trays of chemical tubes filled with a thick, muddy green liquid that looked awfully familiar to her.  
  
Alicia was no science expert, but she had learned a few things about chemical injections while she was trapped in the facility. She pulled a microscope from a shelf underneath one of the table and plugged it in before going of to find some syringes and slides.  
  
When she had everything she needed, she opened one of the tubes and carefully took a small sample of it to put on one of the slides. She slid it underneath the microscope and studied it for a moment, though she didn't understand what she was looking at. She then took a small sample of her own blackish-red blood and placed it between the two peices of glass. Looking at the two side by side, it wasn't hard to see the similarities. It was similar to the same chemical she'd been injected with during the one experiment that changed her life.  
  
They had studied her and her powers relentlessly, trying to find some way to enhance it, or at least duplicate it. Their theory was, that if they could find a way to perfect the strengths of demons, they could make an unstopable army for Esthar. At least, that's what they told the government. After such a long time of studing, they thought they had finally found their break through, and they intended to test it on Alicia. In the end, the chemical did not enhance her powers after transformation, with the excpection of the incident during her escape. Instead, it made it so that her body rejected the transformation. That was fine so long as she was kept away from blood or fresh meat, which would force her into attempted transformatiom. Afterwards, they used it as a tool for punishment.  
  
Upon studing the cells of her blood for a moment more, she noticed they were changing. They were becoming something powerfully self- destructive. That had to be the cause for her sudden sickness. It all went back to the failed experiment. Upon further examination, she realized that the more her own cells changed, the more they looked like the chemical. It was some kind of super-charged version of their enhancing chemical, but this time, it was even more dangerous. Whatever demon had this injected into their blood stream would die almost immediately.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Rinoa wearily pushed her cart down an empty hallway, the sound of her own footsteps ringing in the silence causing her adrenelin to pump. She had a sinking sensation in her chest, and she just knew that something was going to go wrong.  
  
As she passed by one of the labs, she came to an abrupt halt and crouched down, so that she couldn't be seen through the window in the top. Pressing her ear to the icy metal, she could faintly hear voices comeing from the room on the otherside. It was Ellone and the woman they had met outside.  
  
"We're going to test ever batch of it," the woman was saying. "There's no trusting those Estharian doctors. They could've sold us some bad stuff."  
  
"We were lucky to get it at all," Ellone replied. "Had it not been for my connections, we wouldn't have."  
  
"I understand. But we can't be too sure. All of it has to be tested first. But don't worry, it will all be ready by the ceremony tonight, just like you wanted. I promise you that."  
  
"I hope you're a woman of your word," Ellone said. "I would hate for the ceremonial drinking from the fountain to be posponed. But it's awfully tedious work, to have to inject them, one by one. Is there not some easier way of doing this?"  
  
"Of course. We've already taken it all into consideration, and come up with a way that should be suitable. Everyone will get their share, without having to stand in a line and wait for days."  
  
"And this would be?"  
  
"Well, we were told that the original version while effective, were not very strong, and had to be injected directly into the blood stream. This improved version is supposed to be able to sink in through the skin. It doesn't take but a little bit, either, so we could probably just hand out the vials and have them apply it themselves. After it's been properly analyzed, of course."  
  
"Of course," Ellone replied coldly. "And how long will it take you to study every little vial of it?"  
  
"I've got everyone in my staff working on it. Please, don't worry."  
  
"Very well, then. I'm off to feed. I'll return to check your progress later."  
  
Upon hearing these words, Rinoa got up and fled, not thinking twice about leaving her cart in the middle of the hall. At the moment, she was more concerned about finding Squall and telling him what she heard.  
  
As Ellone stepped out of the room, she noticed the cart sitting idley in the middle of the floor. "This is what you call working?" Ellone asked of the young doctor.  
  
She gave a nervous laugh. "Well, it appears that some of my staff members are slacking off. I'll have to find the one responsible for this and see that he gets his proper punishment."  
  
Ellone ignored her words and took a few more steps into the corridor, inhaling deeply as she did. "Do you smell that?" she asked. "I hope this was no staff memeber of yours. But, if they weren't, how did they get in here?"  
  
The doctor hesitated for a moment, realizing she'd been caught in a lie. When her lips were finally able to form words, she attempted to stutter out, "P-perhaps there's a traitor amoung my-"  
  
She was cut of when Ellone rammed her claws through her stomach until they tore out through the other side of her back. "Yes, there is a traitor amoung us. I have the undeniable feeling it's you."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Rinoa didn't stop running until she bumped into something tall and hard in the middle of the hall. She stumbled back, her paranoia getting the best of her, and started to run. She felt arms wrap around her waist, and she was pulled back into someone's chest.  
  
"Let go of me!" she screamed, just before a large hand covered her mouth.  
  
"Shh. Calm down, it's just me," she heard a familiar voice say in her ear. She turned around to see Squall giving her a questioning look.  
  
"Sorry," she said. "I just saw Ellone, and it kinda shook me up."  
  
"You did? Where?"  
  
"Somewhere down the hall. She was talking with that woman from outside. I learned some stuff about the shipment from Esthar."  
  
"Did you learn what is was?"  
  
"No. But they intend to give it out at some kind of ceremony tonight. The doctor said all of it had to be tested to make sure it wasn't dangerous."  
  
The two were disrupted when a door swung open and shut with a loud creak. They turned to see a troubled Alicia standing in the hall.  
  
"Alicia, did you find anything out?" Rinoa asked as she approached the older woman.  
  
She nodded. "The chemical... it's an improved version of the chemical they used on me. It's supposed to enhance the powers and strength of a demon after transformation, but it failed. It made my body resist the transformation, instead. It's the cause for my sickness. This stuff is the same, only stronger. It will kill any demon that comes in contact with it immediately."  
  
"Then all we have to do is let them go on with this ceremony Ellone was talking about. They'll kill themselves," Squall pointed out.  
  
"No," Rinoa said sadly. "The doctors are studying it as we speak. They'll see that something's wrong with it and dispose of it. If anything is going to be done, we'll have to do it."  
  
"This is our one oppurtunity," Alicia said. "Our only chance at redemption is to go through with this necessary evil."  
  
Rinoa and Squall both nodded.  
  
"How should we go about this, then?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"You said they were having a ceremony. I would assume that it's the traditional ceremony of praising the new leader, and then drinking from the fountain?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what Ellone said," Rinoa replied.  
  
Alicia opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when a siren started blaring, and the sinister voice of Ellone could be heard on the building's intercom.  
  
"There is at least one intruder in this building. You will know them when you get close to them. When you find this person, bring her to me. That means now!"  
  
"We have to get out of here," Rinoa said, looking around to make sure they were alone.  
  
"There'll be people guarding the doors," Squall said. "There has to be some other way."  
  
"We have to get at least one container of the chemical to bring with us. We may not get another chance at this," Alicia said. She darted into one of the unoccupied rooms where a container had been left, and began pulling it with her.  
  
The three ran into the nearest door, and found they were in a janitors closet. Luckily, it had an lift of its own, to save the janitors the trouble of climbing stairs. They piled onto the lift and pushed the button for the very bottom.  
  
When the lift reached the bottom floor, they found themselves in what looked, and smelled like the sewer.  
  
"At least we're out of there," Rinoa said, as they began walking along the narrow stone paths.  
  
"I hope we can find a way out of here," Squall mumbled.  
  
"I think I have an idea," Alicia said. "We could pour this stuff into the town's water supply. That way, even if none of them drink from their sink today, they will drink from the fountain."  
  
"What about all those other innocent people!?" Rinoa exclaimed.  
  
"This stuff will be harmless to them, trust me. And it should dissolve in the water, and mix in with it. It will be there, but it won't be seen."  
  
"It sounds like our only option," Squall replied before lifting himself onto a ladder and looking up through the grate in the ceiling. "Looks like we're free. And right next to the water tower. That way, it won't have to go through any purifying."  
  
He removed the grate and pulled himself up, followed by Rinoa, the container, and then Alicia.  
  
"Well, let's hope this works," Alicia said, gazing up at the water tower.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++  
  
11:45 P.M.  
  
"It's strange how some experiences can change your outlook on things. Death is something I've always feared. Most people do. But after all that's happened, and all that I've been through, I'm not afraid anymore. I've dated a mass murderer, moved to a town invaded by flesh-eating demons, fallen in love with a man that's part demon, and who's half-sister is the leader of the demonic uprising. At this point, you wouldn't think that I would care about life anymore. But I have so much to live for. I have him. That's really all I need. But, if I do die, then at least I know that I've lived a full life. Some people go a century without knowing what it is to love, or be loved, yet here I am, twenty-two, and I've already found it. That's why I won't be scared. I'll live, or I'll die in peace."  
  
Rinoa sighed, and put her pen and journal away, before laying back on the bed. They'd all gone to what was left of Rinoa's apartment, and taken a shower, and eaten. Rinoa and Alicia took the oppurtunity to get a fresh change of clothes, as well. Afterward, they had checked into the motel outside of Balamb and rested, for the first time in days. Somewhere around eleven-thirty, Alicia awoke, and decided to go check things out in Balamb, since she was the only one that could go out amoung her fellow species without catching someone's attention.  
  
Just as Rinoa was beginning to fall asleep next to Squall, who had been sleeping most of the time, she heard the phone ring and rushed over to answer, knowing who it would be.  
  
"Hello?" she said, trying not to let her nervousness show in her voice.  
  
"Rinoa?" came Alicia's voice on the other end. "Everything's right on shcedule here, so you and Squall had better come down here, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, alright," Rinoa replied. "We'll be there soon, okay. Bye."  
  
"Bye," Alicia repeated, struggling to keep her voice steady as she hung up the phone with a distressed sigh.  
  
For a long moment she stared into the darkness ahead of her, not wanting to turn her head. She wished she was invisible in that darkness, so that no one could see the tears slip down her slightly wrinkled cheeks as she leaned against the table where the phone rested, her body slumped in mournful weakness.  
  
Lost in her remorse, she temporarily forgot where she was, until a small clinking sound caused her head to jerk in that dreaded direction, just in time to see the gun's clip fall away, and the bullets, outlined in the light of the town below, scatter to the floor.  
  
A slight breeze blew through the shattered remnants of the sliding glass door, causing the long, white drapes to billow out, in a morbidly humerous display that was reminiscent of wandering spirits, hiding beneath a faceless facade.  
  
"You of all people should've understood this," came the voice across the room. "Isn't that what you wanted when you were young? Power. This is my chance at your dream. Don't you see?"  
  
"This isn't your chance at anything," Alicia replied in a strained voice. "If you think you're going to succeed, you're wrong. If Rinoa and Squall don't destroy you, you'll destroy yourself in time. Power is deadly."  
  
"It's more than that. It's more than power."  
  
"You're blind," she whispered in reply.  
  
Alicia studied the silhouette that stood, facing the light, with her thin arms outstretched and leaning against the frame of the door, her radiant red dress flowing in the wind, her dark hair in a messy pile atop her head, and her ruby lips shimmering as she turned her head somewhat to the side.  
  
"All I ever really wanted was a family. Is that so much to ask for?"  
  
"You had a family!" Alicia hissed. "His name was Squall, and you used and decieved him!"  
  
"I was trying to do what was in his best interest," Ellone replied softly. "What do you ask of me, mother? What was I to do? My father killed himself, my mother was locked away, never to be seen again. And you question me about how I turned out?"  
  
"Squall went through the same thing, and look at him, now."  
  
"Yes, his heart a slave to some beastly woman, his mind blank save what she tells him to think. He is an empty shell, nothing more," she sneered.  
  
Alicia couldn't help the smile that graced her features as she said, "You try to justify what you do by blaming your childhood. Why? Aren't you just staying true to your primal instincts?"  
  
Ellone finally turned to face Alicia, her once brown eyes glittering a sickly goldish yellow that easily penetrated the darkness. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"  
  
"Deep down, you already know."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
11: 58  
  
Squall and Rinoa walked down the mostly empty streets, heading into the center of town to see if their plan had worked. As they walked, holding each others hands, they could hear the commotion up ahead, signifying the beginning of the ceremony.  
  
They had agreed that they should split up once they entered the area, so they wouldn't look suspicious, then they would meet beside Rinoa's old apartment buildling.  
  
Rinoa walked off on her own, feeling the fear start to freeze her heart now that Squall wasn't with her. Something was going to happen, she knew it. But she fought the feeling as best as she could and continued to push her way through the unwelcoming crowd, careful to keep her head down, and face out of sight. As she neared the entrance to the apartment complex, she felt a cold hand grab her tightly by the wrist and yank her into the shadows, putting their free hand over her mouth.  
  
She laughed slightly, thinking it was Squall again, but began to change her mind when she was pulled into the building and shoved into the elevator. The person that had grabbed her wore a long robe, and a hood that kept their face in the shadows. Rinoa was too terrified to say anything, and her captor seemed to have no interest in her.  
  
When the elevator finally came to a stop, on the top floor, she was shoved out of the elevator and into a dark room, which she was locked into. For a moment, all was silent, but as her vision began to adjust, she realized who occupied the room.  
  
"Alicia?! Why are you....?" she began, her eyes darting from Alicia to Ellone and back again.  
  
"I'm not a traitor," Alicia whispered shakily. "I had no choice. She found me. She forced me to make the call."  
  
"Enough of this!" Ellone yelled. She grabbed Rinoa and pushed her through the broken door and out onto the balcony.  
  
Below, dozens and dozens of people were gathered, all of them searching above for their leader, and cheering loudly when they saw her. She was dressed in a nearly see-through red dress, with silk wraps drapped over her arms, and trailing down her back. Her hair was pinned up on her head, so that the ends stuck up at the top. Dark paint lined her snake- like eyes, and gold marks adorned her cheeks. Her lips pulsed with blood, and curved upward, in a smile that was dripping with poison, and her black wings stretched out a full ten feet behind her She held the top of Rinoa's head in one hand, and had the thick black claws of her other placed against her neck.  
  
"Before I kill her," Ellone said, her voice somehow reaching every ear of the spectators below, "you will drink from the fountain that gave our town life."  
  
People pressed forward and kneeled next to the fountain, each drinking a hand full of water. Amoung them stood Squall, who stared up at Rinoa, his face twisted with absolute horror. Around him, people walked away from the fountain, as if nothing were wrong.  
  
In the darkened room behind Ellone and the captured Rinoa, Alicia was down on her knees, the muscles on her face spasming wildly as pain shot through her body. Something sinister was coming over her again, and for once, she didn't feel the need to fight it.  
  
"Well, now that we have that out of the way, it's time to get rid of the pest, right?" Ellone was saying as she pressed a claw deeper into Rinoa skin, causing blood to trickle down her throat.  
  
Then, as if it were some sort of chain reaction, someone below began to scream as their body slowly melted, and withered away to nothing, followed by more. While Ellone was distracted by this sudden turn of events, she heard a strangled scream spill out from the shadows behind her, and then suddenly there was an immense pressure at her back, and she was falling, even as splinters rained down behind them and showered their skin.  
  
Rinoa looked down in amazment, the realization of what had just happened slowly registering in her brain. Alicia had just pushed Ellone off the balcony, and now they were both falling, in what seemed like slow motion, with peices of balcony railing following close behind.  
  
When she had gotten over her initial shock at this sudden salvation, she seized the oppurtunity, and ran for the elevator.  
  
Below, the two landed violently on the ground, an impact that would have killed any human. Alicia rolled onto her back, having gone unconcious. Ellone stood and quickly looked around her, prepared to call on her minions to help her. She found that they had all withered away to ashes and she was left alone. She did the next best thing and started running away, knowing that Squall wouldn't give chase until he was sure that Rinoa was safe.  
  
A few moments later, Rinoa ran out of the building, the look of frozen terror on her face beginning to thaw as she caught sight of Squall and ran into his arms.  
  
"Where is she?" Rinoa asked him.  
  
"She ran, and I have a pretty good feeling I know where she went. Let's go. Alicia should wake up soon, so don't worry about her."  
  
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah. But once we get there, what do we do? She doesn't die easily."  
  
Squall picked up one of the sharp slivers of twisted metal that lay on the ground and dipped it into the fountain, smiling slightly when the immersed tip turned a black-green color. "She'll die by her own poison."  
  
+++++++++++++++++++  
  
Ellone stood before her grave, the concept of death finally beginning to sink in. Her only chance now was to kill them before they killed her. It was a long shot, she knew. In fact, whether she admitted it to herself or not, she had already given up. Now the only though on her mind was "What happens after this?" Death was so final, in a way that nothing else was. So much so that it often escaped her comprehension. Better not to think about, she had always told herself. Why think about something that won't happen for a long while? Why? Because any day could be your last.  
  
As her mind was turning over the consequences of ignoring the question of death, she heard footsteps quickly approaching, and knew that these last few breaths she took would be her last. Still, she decided she wouldn't have her life slip away without a fight.  
  
Once they were close enough to see her in the grave yard, she made a dash for the church, a place that made her immensly uncomfortable. She climbed the wall, and stayed there on the ceiling, waiting for her victims to arrive.  
  
Outside, Rinoa and Squall stopped at the church entrance to catch their breath.  
  
"Squall, give me that," Rinoa said, nodding to the poisoned metal in his hand.  
  
"Why?"  
  
(Because this is my punishment to face. My burden to bare. I don't want to drag you into this any more than I already have.)  
  
"I know it will be hard for you to do that to your sister," she lied.  
  
He shook his head. "She's not my sister."  
  
"Still... I think it would be easier this way."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
(Am I sure I want to take the full weight of the punishment that's about to befall me? Am I sure that I want to be condemned instead of you?)  
  
"Yes," she answered firmly.  
  
"Okay," he relented slowly and handed the weapon to her before throwing the church doors open and slowly stepping inside.  
  
As Rinoa was stepping forward, Ellone luanched herself from the ceiling and pinned Rinoa to the ground for a moment, before Squall pulled her off. Rinoa rolled to her knees, and raised the metal above her head, taking a deep breath as she heard that ever-present music rise into a haunting shriek just as she plunged the venomous debris into Ellone's heart.  
  
Squall looked on with amazement as Rinoa raised the sharp splinter of steel over her head, thinking that the moment would never come when they would actually be free from trouble. He watched as she brought it down with determined force, and just as it hit its intended mark..... everything went white.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
In the memory you'll find me  
  
Eyes burning up  
  
The darkness holding me tightly  
  
Until the sun rises up  
  
--- Linkin Park "Forgotten"  
  
A light breeze blew over the field, causing the long grass to ripple. At one time, years ago, flowers grew rampant in that same spot, spreading infectious colors from the forest to the horizon. But the flowers had withered and died since then, and the birds had flown away, taking with them their cheerful music. Even the sun didn't seem as bright as it did before.  
  
The breeze that blew scattered the tops of the weeds in all directions before making its way up to the hill, where the grass was always short and well trimmed. On that hill stood a lone tombstone, and stretched out beside it, an unconcious visitor.  
  
Perhaps the first thing that startled his weary mind was the silence that enveloped the surrounding area, or maybe it was the fading sun beating down on his face. Either way, he forced open his heavy eyelids, and was greeted with a tiny, girlish face looking down from above him.  
  
"You made it," she whispered, a mixture of awe and relieve dominating her voice.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked of that familiar little form that sat at his side.  
  
"You're home, Daddy," she answered happily.  
  
He sat up quickly, his last memories returning to him in a violent rush. "How did I get here? Where's Rinoa?"  
  
Ethereal's youthful face darkened, adding years to her appearence. "Mommy... she hasn't come back. I don't know why. You'll have to ask Aunt Alicia. She inside the house right now."  
  
Squall stood from his spot in the grass and followed behind his daughter, a dazed feeling coming over him as he thought about the possibility of Rinoa not coming back to him. In a few short moments, they reached the humble little house where Ethereal had spent her life waiting for her beloved parents' return. Upon opening the door, they found Alicia sitting by the window in her chair, a few gray streaks coloring her dark hair, and a few more wrinkles lining her face.  
  
Ethereal walked up to Alicia and gently tapped her on the shoulder to shake her from her dreamy state. Alicia looked up, noticed Squall standing only a few steps inside the house, and smiled.  
  
"You're back. You made it. I was really beginning to worry, but all is right now," she said, her smile widening.  
  
Squall shook his head. "No it isn't. Where's Rinoa? And where am I? I've never seen this place before."  
  
Alicia looked down at her friend's daughter that she had taken care of for so long, and said, "Why don't you go to your room and play for a little bit. Daddy will spend lots of time with you later, but right now he and I need to talk."  
  
As soon as Ethereal was gone, Alicia motioned for Squall to take a seat in the chair near hers. Once he had uneasily seated himself, she began to talk.  
  
"You've been through so much, yet you're so young. It's a shame."  
  
"Just cut to the point!" Squall snapped.  
  
"It's said that history repeats itself," she said, her eyes looking out the window again to some time and place that was far away. "That is expected. A particular event will repeat itself time and time again, until somebody puts an end to it. This was your battle, and your battle alone. It was all about you and Rinoa. It was up to you to end the cycle of death, destruction, and evil's rein. You think you've been through it only once before, but in truth, you've been through it, time and time again. There are so many memories within you that are too far away to reach. You failed so many times, and all because of one decision. Rinoa had to decide, just before every final battle with Ellone, if she would take the fall for you. If she would take your punishment for you. She thought before it would be best if you faced it together, but this time, she decided she would die for you."  
  
"Die for me?" he repeated. "How does that make any difference in the outcome?"  
  
"Ellone is not what you think she is. She does not die. If Rinoa would have allowed you to make that final blow, as she had so many times before, history would've repeated itself yet again."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Ellone's lived for centuries, though she doesn't remember. She is, in a way, immortal. She was born a special breed of angel, which is called a fallen angel. They are very fragile beings, when it comes to their spirits. They can easily be turned to evil, as Ellone was. But with each of you lifetime's that passed, she forgot more and more, until she could no longer remember what she was. All she knew was the evil urges within, so she began to think of herself as a demon. Now, here's where Rinoa's decision comes in. All those times before, the same thing happened. The two of you went in, you with the weapon, and Ellone pounced on Rinoa. You threw down the weapon so that you could come to Rinoa's aid, and Ellone took the oppurtunity to grab your weapon and use it against the both of you. Somehow, I think, Rinoa had a feeling like something would happen to the holder of the weapon. She was right. She had the weapon this time, and was able to make the killing blow, but Ellone's immortal. She can't be killed. Only trapped."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Rinoa trapped both herself and Ellone in that single moment of time. It's a purgatory all their own. It was the only way to stop Ellone."  
  
"Isn't there any way to save Rinoa, and keep Ellone trapped?"  
  
As Alicia shook her head, Squall's head fell into his hand, and he had to pull in a deep breath to keep from sobbing in front of her. After all he'd gone through to be with her, he'd still lost her.  
  
"I know this is hard for you, but you have to be strong. You have a daughter, now. You have to take care of her, since I won't be here."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"This sickness is devouring me. Killing me, slowly, painfully. I talked to some doctors in Balamb, and they've decided to help me. Basically, it will be the equivilant of when a veternarian puts a dog to sleep. It's quick and painless. I have to do it today, before this thing takes me over."  
  
Squall nodded. "I understand."  
  
"Very well. Will you and Ethereal please accompany me there? I'd hate to go alone."  
  
"Yeah, we'll go with you."  
  
"Thank you, Squall. Now, go, get your daughter, and meet me outside."  
  
Squall slowly stood and crossed the room to the door he'd seen Ethereal dissapear into. He took a deep breath, then opened the door just a crack, making sure it was okay to come in. He opened the door all the way, and stood there for a moment, watching her as she built a tower of blocks, her back turned to him. As much as he tried to make his mouth move, it wouldn't obey him. A powerful emotion was overtaking him as he watched her, so innocent, and care-free. It reminded him of her mother, when she was that age.  
  
Finally, Ethereal turned around and smiled at her father before jumping to her feet and running up to him. "Is everything alright, Daddy? You look sad," she said, gazing up at him with genuwine concern.  
  
"Yeah," he choked out. "We just have to take Alicia somewhere, then we'll come back here, okay?"  
  
"Where's she going?"  
  
"We'll see when we get there."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Alicia gazed up at the tall white building as she stood outside it, Squall and Ethereal beside her.  
  
"Well, it looks like this is it," she said with a sigh.  
  
"We'll see you inside," Squall said, and followed her as she started for the door.  
  
Inside, there was a narrow hall way, lined with blue-cushioned chairs on one side. The front desk was on the other side, right inside the door. Alicia stepped up to it and signed her name on the clip board. She was about to sit down when the nurse said, "Oh, it's you. No need to wait. Everything's set. But are you sure you want to go through with this?"  
  
Alicia nodded. "It's the only way."  
  
"Very well," the nurse said, stepping out from behind the desk. "Follow me."  
  
The three were taken down the narrow hallway, down another hallway, then stopped just outside of one of the rooms.  
  
"This is it," the nurse informed them. "Say whatever you need to say, then come in when you're ready."  
  
Alicia first turned her attention to Ethereal, and bent down to see her better. "Ethereal... you know that Aunt Alicia's sick. Well, I need to get help for it. So I'll be going now. I love you, and I want you to be a good girl. Mind your father, okay?"  
  
The little girl nodded, then gave Alicia a tight hug. "I will, I promise."  
  
Alicia then stood and looked at Squall. Knowing he really wasn't the huggable type, she extended her hand and said, "It's been a long, tiring journey, but you made it. Take good care of Ethereal. And don't worry. Your wounds will heal in time."  
  
After shaking Squall's hand, she went into the room, and laid down on the table while the doctors crowded around her.  
  
Squall took Ethereal's hand and led her down the hall, pausing only once to look back through the window into Alicia's room. They had put a mask over her face, and strapped her arms and legs down, so that the beast within her wouldn't come out to fight.  
  
Another night follows the day  
  
Like a child does to its mother  
  
And everywhere I look I see your face  
  
On the face of others  
  
Once they were back in the first corridor, Squall picked his little girl up and carried her out the door, a million thoughts rushing through his head at once. He buckled her into the passenger seat of the car and slid into the driver's seat, trying to fight the rising lump in his throat.  
  
Even as he sat in the middle of traffic, his eyes kept wandering over to the child next to him, and he dearly wished they wouldn't. Every time he looked at her, he saw Rinoa. She had the same face, the same attitude, even the same lively spark in her eyes. How would he ever survive with this constant reminder at his side? How could he fight the pain?  
  
And I can't escape the pain  
  
All the questions I went through  
  
I never told myself the truth  
  
I turned my back on you and me  
  
'Cause I was scared to see  
  
That we weren't who we use to be  
  
  
  
After a drive that seemed to stretch on into eternity, they arrived back at the quiet little house where they were to live, just the two of them.  
  
He unlocked the door with the keys Alicia had left him, and set Ethreal down, allowing her to walk in on her own. For the first time that day, he took a moment to observe the house and its contents. It was very simple, and the house was somewhat small, but it was cozy, just like Rinoa would've liked it.  
  
As he stood there, unsure of what to do, or where to go, he suddenly felt like a lost little child, left out in the rain to fend for himself.  
  
(I was a lost child once) he thought to himself. (But then she came along. She helped me. Who's going to help me now?)  
  
  
  
So now I'm  
  
Trying hard to let go  
  
Let you go  
  
But I can't seem to loosen my grip  
  
  
  
Ethereal noticed her father standing against the closed front door and ran up to him, somehow sensing his discomfort with the new home of his.  
  
"Daddy, it's okay. You can come in. Aunt Alicia said you're going to live here now, too," she said sweetly.  
  
He gathered the strength to smile for her then said, "I know, I've just never been here before. I don't know how you were use to doing things with Aunt Alicia, either. You're going to have to show me."  
  
She smiled and took his large, rough hands in her tiny, delicate ones. "Well, it's about dark now. That means that I'll be going to bed soon. Aunt Alicia would always tuck me in and tell me a story. She would tell me about you and Mommy when you were younger."  
  
Squall had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep those ever-present tears from over-flowing. Yeah, the way they used to be, when they were together. That was back when he used to be whole.  
  
  
  
I feel the emptyness inside  
  
A part of me already died  
  
When I pretend that you go on  
  
Like everything's okay  
  
  
  
"So, it's your bedtime now, huh?" he said once he'd regained his composure.  
  
"Yep!" she exclaimed and began pulling him toward her room.  
  
Once they were inside, she turned on her lamp and pulled her pajamas out of her dresser before skipping off to the bathroom to change into them. She came back in to see her father sitting on the floor against the wall, next to her bed side table. In his fingers he held a long stemmed, red rose that had been in the vase on her table. Alicia had always taken Ethereal out to a place where the flowers grew to pick some, and the prettiest she found that day would go in her vase. She'd just happened to find a patch of red roses growing next to the broken remains of the church.  
  
"Daddy, are you okay?" she asked softly.  
  
He looked up at her, his usually clear blue eyes clouded with pain as he reached a hand up to wipe at his eye. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied as he set the rose down. "Are you ready to go to sleep now?"  
  
She nodded and jumped into her bed before pulling the covers up to her chin. "Before I sleep can you tell me a story?"  
  
"Sure. What do you want to hear?"  
  
"Tell me about Mommy."  
  
  
  
When all we built began to fall  
  
As I began to lose it all  
  
I shut my eyes to set me free  
  
'Cause I was scared to see  
  
That we weren't who we used to be  
  
  
  
Squall kneeled down next to her and thought for several minutes before speaking. "Well, she had long, black hair, and big brown eyes. Even when she was upset, there was so much life in her eyes. Always this look of sweet innocence. And her smile... it made me feel like I was flying everytime I saw her smile. Just to know that she was happy, made everything alright. Just to know that she was safe. When I was with her it was like finding heaven. Just her presence made me feel like I could do anything, be anything. She gave me so much confidence without even having to say anything. And she could always sense when I was upset, and she always knew how to make me feel better. She was the kindest, gentlest person I'd ever met, and I loved her for it. I loved her for everything. Even when she was angry, and would yell at me... even then I loved her. I would give anything just to hear her yell at me one more time."  
  
Ethereal saw the sadness in his eyes, and reached out a hand to pat him on the arm. "I know you loved Mommy. And Mommy loved you. She still does."  
  
"Ethereal, your mother-"  
  
"She loves you. And so do I. I like your story about her. You'll have to tell it to me again. But I'm sleepy right now. So good night, Daddy."  
  
"Good night," he replied before ackwardly bending down to kiss her on her forehead.  
  
Ethereal watched her father walk out of the room, before getting out of her bed and peeking around the door, just in time to see Squall go out the front door.  
  
  
  
So now I'm  
  
Trying hard to let go  
  
Let you go  
  
But I can't seem to loosen my grip  
  
  
  
Squall walked outside, into the unforgiving cold that had settled over the quiet feild. It used to be their flower field, where they had played, and laughed, talked and made love. Now it was just a bunch of over- grown weeds that constantly threatened to swallow the last physical evidence that remained of Rinoa Heartilly. Had it not been for Alicia's devotion to her friend, and the preservation of her only mark on earth, the weeds would long ago have over-taken it, and the angel he adored would be forgotten.  
  
(Forgotten to all but me) he thought sorrowfully as he aproached the sacred area where she lay. (After I'm gone, how will your memory survive? You deserve to be known, never forgotten. You deserve to live, instead of me.)  
  
He crouched down next to the grave for a moment, carefully reaching out a hand to run his fingers over the cold granite where her name was engraved. It was so hard to comprehend that she wouldn't just burst through the door one day. So hard to believe he would never hold her again.  
  
Suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. He lay down over her grave, curled up into a ball like the lost, confused little boy that this tragic event had reduced him to.  
  
(I said I would be with you until the day I died) he thought as he lay there amoung the frozen earth. (Should I just lay here now and wait until my life is over?)  
  
He knew he couldn't do that, as much as he wanted to. He had responsibilities, whether he liked it or not. Another human being was depending on him for life. But for the time being, all he could do was lay there, steam billowing out from his mouth and his cheeks stinging as his tears froze.  
  
  
  
You're everything that I wanted  
  
You're everything that I need  
  
So now it's finally over  
  
Time for goodbyes  
  
I needed so now I'm  
  
  
  
Ethereal gazed at the window, feeling her heart break as she watched her father mourn. She sat there by her window, watching his back rise and fall erractically, until at last it fell into a steady rythm. She stood up, then, and went to one of her special drawers, where she kept all of her secret things. When she found what she was looking for, she pulled it out, and held it tightly in her palm as she padded across the hard wood floor to the front door.  
  
She crossed the field, not noticing the bitter cold as it blew her hair in front of her face, and numbed her toes. Instead, she continued on until she was standing next to the spot where her father slept. She carefully opened one of his hands and dropped a small chain necklace, with a little golden cross strung on it, into his palm, before closing his fist tightly over it.  
  
As he slept, he began to dream of a place, a moment, frozen in time forever. He saw everything clearly. Rinoa kneeling over Ellone's fallen body, the peice of metal still gripped tightly in her hand, even as it peirced Ellone's chest. Everything was still, as if it were some sort of sick photograph. Even Ellone's mouth was open, as it froze in mid-scream. It was so much to take in, even if it remained the same, unchanging the entire time he looked at it. In fact, he studied it so intently, that he didn't notice the burning sensation in his palm until he noticed that Rinoa's own, stilled palm had begun to smoke as an image was burned into it. A cross.  
  
Abruptly, Rinoa's head jerked up, startling Squall even in his dream. He saw her stand, and watched as she was bathed in beautiful white light from the full moon. The platinum circle that hung on her chest began to shine, and the front of it fell off, revealing a silver cross on the inside. Then, just as it had before, the room was covered in bright light.  
  
  
  
Trying hard to let go  
  
Let you go  
  
But I can't seem to loosen my grip  
  
Trying hard to let go  
  
Let you go  
  
Let you go  
  
Go  
  
  
  
Squall's eyes slowly opened, the early morning light casting a soft pink glow on his face. He sat up, part of him wondering how he managed not to freeze that night, and stretched his tired, tense muscles out. It was time to try and work through another day alone.  
  
As he stood, he noticed the necklace in his hand and felt the burn mark on his palm. Before he had the chance to inquire over it, he heard a voice call out to him from behind.  
  
"Maybe you should try sleeping in a bed next time. You have grass in your hair," a gentle, laughing voice said.  
  
He turned to see his angel behind him, in all her glory, and couldn't help but rub his eyes as he wondered if her was hullicinating.  
  
"Or just going to stand there and blink?" she asked, before talking a few steps to close the small gap between them.  
  
"Rinoa.... How?" he stammered.  
  
"I took the punishment for all the wrong that had to be done. I thought that was what I deserved. But I was forgiven. I have a chance to live again," she said before jumping into his arms. "I think our daughter had something to do with it, somehow."  
  
"Yeah. She is a bit strange to be five. I wonder...."  
  
"Wonder what?"  
  
"Nevermind," he replied, pushing Alicia's words about the immortal angels out of his head. "Let's just get inside before our daughter wakes up."  
  
She smiled and leaned up to give him a kiss. "Yes, my precious demon. Let's go inside. I've missed you terribly."  
  
"I've missed you, too," he whispered back, tightening his grip on her, "my angel."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Final Note: I can feel the flames already. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I hope no one was offended by the cross thing. I happen to be a Christian, but I still support Jews, Buddhist, Muslims, and pretty much every other religion out there. So, I hope you liked it. It's been fun, kids, and for the time being, I have nothing else lined up for you to read, so.... See ya! 


End file.
